Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Ji An quickly browsed through the content of the Jade Slip, nodding in satisfaction:

"This is exactly what I need, there are many small techniques in here that will help me a lot."

He carefully put away the Jade Slip, expressing his emotions with a sigh:

"I’ve been in the Immortal City for nearly ten years, and I’ve finally exchanged for my first Talisman Painting Technique. Now I can start taking on tasks to draw Thunder Talismans!"

How many decades does one have in a life? Hmm, he has over a hundred.

It sounds like a lot, but life is finite while the Dao is infinite, he cannot afford to relax now.

Master Qingfeng shook his head gently, advising tactfully:

"The drawing strength required for Tier Three Talismans is much higher than that for Tier Two. I suggest you make adequate preparations before attempting it."

The process of drawing a Tier Three Upper Grade Purifying Talisman must have consumed an enormous amount of effort to reach such a level.

When encountering new Talisman Painting, most cultivators experience a loss for a while, which is normal.

Materials for Tier Three Talismans are expensive, and many cultivators cannot afford a long-term deficit.

Thinking about this, he shook his head again with a smile.

The other party is not only a Talisman Maker but also an Alchemist, with strong abilities to endure long-term failures.

They chatted for a while about the current situation, and then Ji An stood up and said:

"Thank you for your time, I will take my leave."

...

Leaving the Talisman Maker area, Ji An entered the Alchemist area.

He could be considered a regular at the association, and many people recognized him, allowing him seamless access.

Finding Master Feiyun, he asked with a smile:

"Fellow Daoist, are there any tasks with generous Contribution Points?"

Master Feiyun covered her forehead with her hand, saying helplessly:

"I would like to arrange tasks for you, but there aren’t any suitable ones.

Please have a seat, and enjoy a cup of Spirit Tea for your throat."

There are plenty of tasks that offer Contribution Points, but none suitable for a Golden Core Cultivator.

The other party asks her every now and then, making her feel a bit embarrassed.

A maid served the Spirit Tea, made a courtesy bow, and exited the room.

Ji An was quite troubled, as he had advanced to the Third Layer of the Golden Core, and had to prepare in advance for refining the Purple Cloud Jade Ganoderma Pill.

In the Little World, the Purple Cloud Tree reached the Tier Two Top Grade level; when he breaks through to the Mid-stage Golden Core, the Spirit Tree should start bearing fruit.

Without obtaining the Pill Formula, the cultivation of related Spirit Medicines cannot begin.

He drank the Spirit Tea in one gulp and tentatively asked:

"I want to purchase the Pill Formula for the Purple Cloud Jade Ganoderma Pill. Do you have any other avenues?"

He tightly watched Master Feiyun’s eyes, hoping to receive a positive answer.

Master Feiyun shook her head, looking even more helpless:

"The Certification Association is the relatively easiest place to obtain a Pill Formula, acquiring one from other forces would cost much more.

If there were tasks suitable for an early-stage Golden Core Alchemist, I would surely inform you right away."

She had a way, but it required revealing that he possessed Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire, and from what she knew of him, this wouldn’t be viable.

Ji An’s gaze was contemplative; after pondering for a moment, he asked:

"The association should be collecting Pill Formulas that can help early-stage Golden Core Cultivators improve their cultivation, right?"

He understood that things should be expedited; if he couldn’t get the Pill Formula soon, it would severely impact his cultivation speed.

If it weren’t for the True Demon Tribulation, he could wait patiently, and ten more years wouldn’t matter.

However, with the great catastrophe pending, time was not on his side, and he couldn’t afford to waste it—he must obtain the Pill Formula as soon as possible.

"We are willing to acquire any Pill Formulas not yet recorded by the association. You might as well tell us the name of your Pill Formula?"

Ji An gave a modest smile, "The name of the elixir is Fire Element Pill, which you probably haven’t heard of."

Saying this, he took out a Jade Bottle from the Grotto Void Stone, poured out a pill of ordinary quality, and presented it to her.

Acquiring enough elixirs through auction events was next to impossible.

It’s not only that he had a sense of urgency; other cultivators felt the same, and the price of resources that could enhance cultivation would undoubtedly rise a lot.

The fierce competition for elixirs at the last Yunhai Auction House’s major event deeply shocked him.

He realized that if he didn’t sell off his possessions, he might not even be able to compete.

He had not been a Golden Core Cultivator for long, barely seventy years, and his wealth certainly couldn’t match those who had been Golden Core for many years.

Therefore, the most reliable approach was to refine the elixir himself.

Master Feiyun took the elixir, brought it to her nose and sniffed the medicinal scent, unconsciously raising her brows.

She scraped off some powder from the elixir and put it in her mouth, confirming that indeed, it was a type she had never seen before.

"Compared to the ordinary quality of Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill, how is its efficacy?"

"The ordinary quality Fire Element Pill is about forty percent as effective as the Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill, and the top-grade Fire Element Pill is about sixty percent effective.

Most importantly, the current cost of the ingredients for this elixir is only one-tenth of that of the Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill."

The cost of the elixir being lower while its cost-effectiveness is higher is what makes it most attractive.

Master Feiyun pondered, then asked:

"Did you refine this elixir yourself?"

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Yes."

Feiyun Zhenren shook his head upon hearing the reply:

"In that case, the Spirit Pills refined by others wouldn’t have such strong efficacy."

Ji An calmly explained:

"Even if the effect is slightly inferior, the cost-effectiveness of this pill formula surpasses that of the Spirit Rhinoceros Quenching Essence Pill.

An additional high cost-effective pill formula will allow the association to create astonishing wealth."

The association is a vast platform across the Central Continent. Upon obtaining the pill formula, the resources it can mobilize far exceed his own.

Therefore, creating pill formulas is something major forces are willing to do because they can leverage more resources.

Feiyun Zhenren nodded and smiled, saying, "You’re right, fellow Daoist, but I request to keep this pill. We will evaluate its efficacy.

After the evaluation is complete, you will be informed."

Ji An nodded slightly, "I agree, but there’s no need for you to notify me; I’ll come by tomorrow."

There was no choice but to agree; currently, he holds too little initiative.

The two discussed the time and decided to meet again tomorrow at the double hour.

After discussing business, they chatted a bit more before Ji An stood up to take his leave.

...

Returning to the Black Stone Mountain, Ji An’s mind sank into his Dantian connecting with the Upper Stone Turtle, watching the words in his Sea of Consciousness become clear, feeling a sense of peace.

[Master: Ji An]

[Dao Rhyme: 0]

[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 326.6, Gen Spirit 278.2, Zhen Spirit 36242.5, Xun Spirit 874.6, Kun Spirit 11035.1, Qian Spirit 14861.4, Dui Spirit 9593.6, Li Spirit 376.8]

[Magic Techniques: Spirit Sealing Technique (Perfection 52%)

Spirit Roar (Perfection 5%)

Silk Thread Spell (Perfection 1%)

Yi Wood God Thunder (Perfection 71%)

Wu Earth God Thunder (Perfection 86%)

Bing Fire Divine Thunder (Minor Achievement 12%)

Gui Water God Thunder (Great Success 59%)

Melt Gold Divine Fire Technique (Perfection 68%)

Yi Wood Spirit Stealing Skill (Great Success 60%)

Solid Gold Technique (Perfection 92%)]

These are the results of years of accumulation, with various magic techniques steadily progressing.

He glanced at the stored Spiritual Mechanism quantity and issued a command:

"Refining Spiritual Mechanism, enhance Solid Gold Technique."

With the command issued, his Divine Sense was drawn into the Profound Mysterious Space of the Stone Turtle.

The gigantic Eight Trigrams Pattern shone brightly; every time he entered here, he felt a sense of pilgrimage.

This place is where he took off, still remembering the first time he enhanced the Small Cloud Rain Technique.

The feet of the Spiritual Illusion each stepped onto the Qian Position and Dui Position. As he stepped on, the Qian Position swiftly turned into a bright silver and the Dui Position into a dull gold, with gold and silver reflecting.

The illusion conjured magic techniques, with Geng Metal and Xin Metal blending like water and milk, perfectly integrating the gold element spiritual qi yin and yang sides, forming a cylindrical gold defense crystal externally.

The magic techniques were cast repeatedly, and realizations flowed in the heart.

Unsure how much time passed, the body automatically detached from the Stone Turtle Space, and consciousness returned to the body.

[Solid Gold Technique (Perfection 92%→Perfection 100%)]

The line for Solid Gold Technique gradually faded and disappeared.

Raising the defense magic to the Great Perfection Level of the Golden Core Stage, Ji An’s sense of unease diminished greatly.

The only regret was the inability to conduct practical tests; he had no idea what level his defense power had reached now.

Ji An grasped the Gourd Stone in his hand, extending his Divine Sense to touch the silver spots within the stone, entering the Little World.

The three magical treasures flew out in succession, with the roars of the Earth Qilin and Cyan Dragon and the cries of the Fire Phoenix reverberating non-stop.

They played exuberantly, occasionally letting out roars and cries with no signs of stopping.

Ji An initiated spiritual communication, "Stop, I am going to cultivate now."

His communication had an immediate effect; the sounds fell into silence, and he sat cross-legged to begin cultivating the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture.

After six double hours, he finished cultivating and brewed a pot of Tier Three Middle Grade Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea.

Sipping the spirit tea, he placed the jade slip of the Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talisman painting technique on his forehead, carefully pondering.

He was quite satisfied with this talisman-making inheritance, including not just talisman-making techniques but also methods for refining the talisman paper and cinnabar.

Perhaps the cultivator who left the inheritance knew how difficult it was to use the essence blood and beast hide of Golden Core Level demon beasts for talisman-making. There aren’t so many Golden Core Level demon beasts for cultivators to capture!

These things repeated much of what he had before, but it wasn’t without gains; the Thunder Talisman is so powerful that talisman paper is very difficult to carry more magical power.

This resulted in the Thunder Talisman drawn on talisman paper nearly impossible to reach Tier Three Top Grade Level.

However, the talisman maker who left the inheritance shared a technique to break this phenomenon. For others, this technique might not be of great use, but for Ji An, it was extremely useful.

The talisman maker mentioned once obtaining a Tier Three Lower Grade Thunder-Attracting Grass, drying it and grinding it into extremely fine powder, combining it with other materials to create talisman paper.

This method resulted in talisman paper that can carry more magical power, and the talisman maker once drew an Upper Top Grade Thunder Talisman.

A Thunder Talisman of this level unleashed, as long as it hits the target, has a strong lethality against Early-stage Golden Core cultivators or demon beasts.

Ji An didn’t have a Tier Three Thunder-Attracting Grass, but in the Little World, there are four Tier Two Upper Grade Thunder-Attracting Grass.

As long as the species of the Thunder-Attracting Grass can reach the Tier Three limit, cultivating a Tier Three plant is just a matter of time.