Chapter 207 - 201: Cyan Wood Longevity Skill
Li Yuan took out all four main ingredients and three supplementary ingredients, arranging them in a row on the table.
Spirit Essence Fruit. Cui Xin Lotus. Nine-Turn Lingzhi. Purple Mansion Profound Liquid.
Red Glow Grass. Profound Spirit Sand. Soul Condensing Dew.
Seven ingredients, not a single one missing.
All the ingredients for the Breaking Element Pill were gathered.
The next morning, Li Yuan went to Pill Refiner He’s courtyard.
The Restriction recognized his wooden token and an opening appeared. Li Yuan pushed the gate open and went inside.
Pill Refiner He was sitting behind the stone table, sipping tea from a white porcelain cup as usual.
"I’ve gathered the ingredients."
Li Yuan sat down on a stone stool.
Pill Refiner He placed his teacup on the table and glanced at Li Yuan.
"Which plan?"
There were three plans. The first was no fee, but he would take one pill. The second was a fee at market price, with all pills going to Li Yuan. The third involved a high price for success and compensation for failure.
"How many Spirit Stones for the second plan?"
Pill Refiner He held up one hand, spreading his five fingers.
"One thousand two hundred."
One thousand two hundred Spirit Stones.
Li Yuan quickly calculated his current Spirit Stone balance in his head.
’It’s far from enough. I’ll probably have to save for quite a while longer.’
Li Yuan was silent for a few breaths.
"About the matter with the Ji family last time... is that offer still valid?"
’My Spirit Stones have bottomed out. Besides, success isn’t guaranteed, and even if it is, there’s no promise of getting two pills.’
Pill Refiner He’s gaze lingered on Li Yuan for an extra moment before he nodded.
"It is. If you’re willing, I’ll contact the Ji family."
Pill Refiner He folded his hands on the table.
"But there’s one thing—once someone from the Ji family arrives, you’ll negotiate the terms yourselves. I’m only responsible for the Alchemy, I won’t get involved in the transaction."
Li Yuan nodded, and Pill Refiner He immediately ordered an attendant to notify the Ji family.
In less than an hour, the Restriction at the courtyard gate opened.
An old man walked in.
He was not tall, with a slightly hunched back and an ancient face. His wrinkles were as deep as if they had been carved with a knife.
His temples were completely white, and his sparse hair was tied into a loose, messy bun. His eyes were murky but not dull.
He wore a deep blue robe with no embroidery, but the quality of the fabric was excellent.
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
His spiritual pressure was so restrained it was almost imperceptible without careful sensing.
But the profound sense of presence he exuded couldn’t be faked. It was different from Pill Refiner He’s spiritual pressure, which was like a silent anvil. This old man’s was like a lamp about to burn out—faint, but still shining.
’The Ji family’s old ancestor.’
After entering, the old man cupped his fists toward Li Yuan.
"Li Dao You."
He didn’t use a junior form of address, but rather one for a peer.
His voice was hoarse and low, but still held some vigor.
"This old one is Ji Huaiyuan, Patriarch of the Ji family."
"Regarding this matter, thank you, Li Dao You, for your willingness to consider it."
Li Yuan nodded at him.
Pill Refiner He sat to the side, holding his teacup, and said nothing.
Ji Huaiyuan sat on a stone stool, his hands resting on his knees.
"He Dao You has roughly explained the situation. Li Dao You has a full set of materials for the Breaking Element Pill and plans to ask He Dao You to refine them. If more than one pill is produced, the second can be given to the Ji family."
Li Yuan nodded.
Ji Huaiyuan didn’t beat around the bush and spoke directly.
"The Ji family’s terms are as follows."
He held up one finger.
"First, the Ji family will cover the entire cost of the Alchemy. Li Dao You will not have to spend a single Spirit Stone."
A second finger.
"Second, the Ji family will provide two sets of Foundation Establishment insights and one subsequent Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique."
He placed two thin scrolls on the table.
"These two are the Foundation Establishment insights left behind by myself and a previous Foundation Establishment Cultivator. They detail the entire process of achieving Foundation Establishment—how to compress Spiritual Power, how to transform the Dantian, and what to pay attention to at each stage. Both of these are for you."
Then he took out three beast-hide scrolls wrapped in Oil Paper and laid them side-by-side on the table.
"These three are subsequent Foundation Establishment Cultivation Techniques. You may choose one of the three."
He introduced the three scrolls one by one.
"The first is a Metal Element Cultivation Technique. The second is a Water Element Cultivation Technique. The third is a Wood Element Cultivation Technique. All three techniques cover the complete cultivation path from Early-stage Foundation Establishment to Great Perfection, with the Wood Element technique being the highest quality."
He looked at Li Yuan.
"You get both sets of insights, and you choose one of the three Cultivation Techniques."
"The third one. The Wood Element," Li Yuan said.
Ji Huaiyuan nodded and pushed the Wood Element Cultivation Technique toward Li Yuan. He returned the other two techniques to his sleeve and pushed the two sets of Foundation Establishment insights to Li Yuan as well.
"Third." Seeing Li Yuan put the items away, he held up a third finger.
"The Ji family only wants the second pill. If three are refined, the price for the third can be negotiated separately."
He paused for a moment.
"At the same time, to ensure a fair transaction, the Ji family can provide a Spirit Contract."
He took a thin piece of beast hide from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
The surface of the beast hide was carved with dense Spirit Patterns, and its edges glowed with a faint golden light.
"A Spirit Contract is a type of Spiritual Power contract. After both parties sign it, it uses Spiritual Power as a medium to bind the execution of the terms. The party that violates the contract will suffer a Spiritual Power backlash. It does not involve essence blood, does not track location, and only binds the terms of the transaction itself."
He looked at Li Yuan.
"The terms are simple: The Ji family will bear the cost of the Alchemy and provide the Cultivation Technique; Li Dao You will provide the materials and give the second pill to the Ji family. Neither party may go back on their word."
Li Yuan picked up the Spirit Contract and glanced at it. The structure of the Spirit Patterns was not overly complex. Its core was a bidirectional binding circuit—each party would infuse a trace of Spiritual Power, which would form a symmetrical lock within the circuit. A breach by either party would trigger a backlash.
Li Yuan placed the Spirit Contract back on the table and looked toward Pill Refiner He.
Pill Refiner He put down his teacup and nodded.
"The terms are reasonable. I’ve seen the Ji family’s Spirit Contracts before, there’s nothing wrong with them."
"Agreed," Li Yuan nodded.
Ji Huaiyuan’s fingers relaxed.
He pushed the Spirit Contract to the center of the table, took a fine-tipped brush from his sleeve, and wrote the terms in the blank space at the top of the contract.
After he finished writing, Ji Huaiyuan infused his Spiritual Power into the left half of the Spirit Contract. The faint golden Spirit Patterns on his side lit up, locking onto his Spiritual Power signature.
Li Yuan infused his Spiritual Power into the right half. The Spirit Patterns glowed, and the bidirectional lock was complete.
Pill Refiner He, as the witness, pressed a Spiritual Power seal at the bottom of the Spirit Contract.
The three parties reached an agreement.
Ji Huaiyuan carefully put away the Spirit Contract and cupped his fists toward Li Yuan.
He then took a cloth pouch from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table.
"This is the fee for the Alchemy. He Dao You, please count it."
Pill Refiner He took the pouch, looked through it, and nodded.
Ji Huaiyuan also cupped his fists toward Pill Refiner He, then turned and slowly walked out of the courtyard.
His figure paused at the courtyard gate, as if looking back for a moment, or perhaps steadying his feet at the threshold.
Then he pushed the gate open and left.
Pill Refiner He gathered the Spirit Stones from the pouch and put them into a drawer under the table.
"When will you bring the materials?"
"Anytime."
"Tomorrow, then." Pill Refiner He picked up his teacup. "I have some preparatory work to do before the Alchemy, which will take about two or three days. Bring the materials over, then wait for my message."
Li Yuan nodded, put the Wood Element Cultivation Technique scroll into his storage bag, and left the courtyard.
Back in his own courtyard, Li Yuan closed the gate.
First, he examined the Cyan Wood Longevity Skill.
Li Yuan took the scroll out of the Oil Paper and placed his finger on the cover.
The panel popped up.
[Detected Equipable Item: Cyan Wood Longevity Skill (Complete)]
[Equip Trait Preview: Wood Spirit Nourishment (Green) — Increases natural injury recovery speed and healing recovery speed by 50%; enhances perception of plants rich in spirituality.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Use ten Tier One Middle Grade or higher Spirit Medicines (0/10).]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Do you wish to replace a currently equipped item?]
A green trait.
Li Yuan stared at the panel for two breaths.
Green.
The Cyan Wood Longevity Skill was the Ji family’s highest-quality Cultivation Technique, covering the complete path from Early-stage Foundation Establishment to Great Perfection. In terms of value, it was considered a rarity in all of Yunyang Market.
But its trait was only green.
The previous Spirit Absorption Pill was green, the Spiritual Essence Bottle was green, and the Blood Coagulation Pill was green. The value of those items was far less than a complete Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Technique.
And yet the Bloodthirsty Stone was also green—just a rock pried out of an Array.
’The grade of a trait isn’t strongly tied to the intrinsic value of the item itself.’
’A good item doesn’t necessarily produce a high-grade trait, and a common item might produce a good one. The grade of a trait probably depends on the strength of the trait’s effect itself, not the item’s market value or rarity.’
’Still, the trait’s effect isn’t bad.’
An increase of fifty percent in natural and healing recovery speed—this meant that whether it was an injury from battle or a hidden injury from cultivation, the recovery speed would be half again as fast. Stacked with his existing recovery-type traits like ’Self-Generating Qi Blood,’ ’Surging Blood Qi,’ and ’Nourishing Qi Blood,’ his regenerative abilities would become extremely formidable.
Enhanced perception of plants rich in spirituality—this effect would be helpful for both herb gathering and Alchemy. He would be able to more keenly sense the location, quality, and medicinal efficacy of Spirit Grass.
The condition for permanence was to use ten Tier One Middle Grade or higher Spirit Medicines.
’It probably means consuming them or using them up in some other way.’
Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Medicines weren’t too expensive. The cheapest cost around ten-odd Spirit Stones a stalk, so ten would only be a little over a hundred.
Li Yuan returned the scroll to his storage bag.
’There’s no rush to make it permanent. I’ll buy the Spirit Medicines when I have more Spirit Stones on hand.’
That night, he sat cross-legged on his bed and circulated the Soul Condensation Skill.
The power of his Divine Soul repeatedly compressed and expanded between his brows, growing more solid, sliver by sliver.
Then he switched back to the Spirit-Introducing Skill. Although his Cultivation had already reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and the total amount of his Spiritual Power was no longer increasing, circulating the Cultivation Technique continued to polish the state of his meridians and Dantian, making the final preparations for Foundation Establishment.
The tempering of the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill was interspersed throughout. The ’Spirit Blood Dual Cultivation’ from the Blood Coagulation Pill made his Spiritual Power run in sync with his Qi Blood, and the permanent trait ’Precise Qi Blood Control’ made the circulation extremely efficient.