Chapter 551 - 454: Ruins (Part 2)
The store cannot provide more, but it still needs to maintain cooperation with other Talisman Makers, so it can only offer this much for now.
"Alright."
Wey Xianglin tilted his head towards the maid, "As we discussed earlier, bring enough materials and three top-grade Spirit Stones."
"Okay," the maid quickly packed the talismans and took them away.
After a while, the maid brought over the materials and Spirit Stones, and Wey Xianglin happily started calculating:
"Materials for fifty Profound Armor Talismans cost seven thousand Spirit Stones, and materials for Fire Dragon Talismans cost six thousand four hundred Spirit Stones.
Materials for Pan Mountain Talisman and Bursting Talisman both cost four thousand Spirit Stones, after rounding off the change, you still need to pay us two hundred and ten Spirit Stones."
Ji An inspected the quality of the Beast Hide and Talisman Ink, and with a gentle nod, he took out Spirit Stones to make the payment.
He stored away the materials and sighed lightly to himself.
Earlier he thought having six hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones in hand would last a long time, but now it seems if too many top-grade Spirit Stones are exchanged, they’d be spent within a few months.
The two parties chatted idly, with Wey Xianglin subtly asking:
"Senior, your accent suggests you’re not a cultivator from the area around the Immortal City. How long will you be staying here?"
Ji An repeated what he said at the Spirit Pill Pavilion with a smile:
"I hope your pavilion can help introduce me to some relevant cultivators."
Wey Xianglin’s expression showed more delight, and he replied:
"No problem, but Senior needs to be prepared to wait for several years.
Red Rock Immortal City gathers many cultivators with similar pursuits, but the area in the mines that allows comprehension of the Five Elements Mutual Generation isn’t always available. Reportedly, allocations for such opportunities are scheduled years in advance."
"I am mentally prepared for this."
Ji An smiled, noting that the opportunities here are greater, which is why it attracts many cultivators from various continents.
...
Days passed by peacefully, with cultivation methods, talisman making, and alchemy forming Ji An’s life.
Every three or four days, he would venture out into areas near the Immortal City, practicing various escape techniques, but he never went too far, always returning within the same day.
Two years passed.
In the grotto mansion, Ji An finished cultivating methods and immersed his mind into his Dantian, connecting with the Upper Stone Turtle, as lines of text emerged in his Sea of Consciousness.
[Master: Ji An]
[Dao Rhyme: Water 0.4, Earth 0.6]
[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 362.8, Gen Spirit 568.5, Zhen Spirit 214.7, Xun Spirit 398.4, Kun Spirit 457.2, Qian Spirit 367.3, Dui Spirit 362.5, Li Spirit 246.7]
[Magic Techniques: Spirit Sealing Technique (Great Success 41%)
Wood Escape Technique (Perfection 89%)
Fire Escape Technique (Perfection 14%)
Gold Escape Technique (Perfection 12%)
Water Escape Technique (Perfection 67%)
Spirit Roar (Minor Achievement 58%)
Silk Thread Spell (Perfection 1%)]
Over the past two years, Ji An unexpectedly acquired some Dao Rhymes.
His network expanded, and he got to know a few cultivators of the same level, but still hadn’t met anyone who could offer him an opportunity.
After reviewing the current progress of various magic techniques, Ji An gave the command, "Enter the Gourd World."
He just stepped onto the yellow land of the Little World, when the Wuji Xinghuang Banner flew out of his Dantian and circled the Gathering Essence Tree.
This Heaven and Earth Spirit Tree had grown to over five feet tall, with seven branches, its leaves vibrant and shimmering with Spirit Light.
It had currently reached a Tier One Upper Grade level, and its rapid growth far exceeded his expectations.
In Ji An’s view, Heaven and Earth Spirit Roots should theoretically be at a Tier Five level or higher, with notably slow growth, yet this wasn’t the case.
At least for now it wasn’t, growing much faster than the Soul Nourishing Wood and Phoenix Wood, though it was only rooted in a Tier One Top Grade Spirit Field.
He shifted his gaze to the Spirit Devouring Insect nest.
Five nests over a yard tall rose from the ground, and the number of spiritual insects had increased several dozen times.
Additionally, there were now Tier One Top Grade Spirit Devouring Insects emerging, so Ji An was already controlling their numbers to prevent ecological collapse.
Many wooden huts were constructed here as warehouses in preparation for resource stockpiling.
Ji An applied magic to the Spirit Fields in turn. In the black soil pond, the Treasure Dragon Fish had reproduced over a hundred offspring, with the largest now reaching the Foundation Establishment level, dominating the pond.
With such precious bait as Spirit Devouring Insects, all kinds of Spirit Fish thrived marvelously.
In the depths of the magma, clusters of Fire Coral thrived abundantly, with many reaching Tier One Top Grade, forming a symbiotic relationship with the Fire Crystal Ants.
The Fire Crystal Ants produced Coral Honey, fragrant and delicious, and their colonies expanded considerably, dispersing their Spirit Sand into the Magma Lake.
Even more unexpectedly for Ji An, the Fire Coral could bloom copper-coin-sized flowers, with a blooming period lasting several months, during which it was a festival for the Purple Crystal Bees.
In contrast to the rapid expansion of the Purple Crystal Bee colony, the White Jade Bees led a more meager existence due to the scarcity of Jade Leaf Mulberry plants, severely limiting their numbers.
...
The next morning, Ji An returned to his grotto mansion after breakfast at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and found two familiar cultivators standing outside.
He hurriedly approached them with a smile:
"Fellow Daoists, your esteemed presence here is much appreciated, please come inside the grotto mansion for a chat."
Like him, these two weren’t natives of the Red Rock Immortal City’s vicinity and had come to understand Gold Generating Water.
They earn their livelihood hunting demons and, by chance, became acquainted with him, subsequently becoming his suppliers.
They sold him Beast Hide and Demon Beast Essence Blood at low prices and purchased talismans from him.
Without middlemen taking a cut, he earned considerably more Spirit Stones.
"Haha, no need for such formality, Fellow Daoist."
The three entered the grotto mansion, took their seats, and the short cultivator, Yuan Hong, spoke first:
"Fellow Daoist Ji, let’s get straight to the point.
A while ago, Fellow Daoist Zhang and I went demon hunting and discovered a relic, presumably the grotto mansion left behind by a fairly significant force, at least Golden Core level.
The dharma prohibitions in the grotto mansion remain intact; we tried attacking the magic array but couldn’t find a way in.
Later, we discovered the formation to be the Three Talents Mysterious Killing Array, requiring three people to simultaneously attack the formation nodes to possibly break it."
Zhang Le chimed in:
"You’re aware, Fellow Daoist, that we have no roots here; after considering, you’re the only one we trust. Would you be interested in joining us?
If the formation is broken, you can take two-tenths of the spoils from that area."
They had already explored most of the relic, amassing bountiful gains, so they were eager for the core area.
If it hadn’t been necessary to break the formation with three people, they’d be reluctant to even mention it.
Ji An raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised at their fortune.
But a very real issue crossed his mind; regardless of the relic’s authenticity, the two were long-time friends, inherently allies.
If conflict arose, he’d face attacks from both sides.
Engaging in battle with two cultivators often on the frontlines of demon hunting didn’t scare Ji An, but from a skeptical perspective, he felt the risk was substantial.
After contemplating briefly, Ji An asked:
"How did you confirm the relic belonged to a Golden Core level force?"
Weighing the pros and cons, he felt a relic at the Golden Core level was worth the risk.
Zhang Le said with a smile, "Honestly, Fellow Daoist Yuan and I have already explored the non-core areas of the relic and found quite a bit of good stuff."
He took out a broken red Flying Sword, saying,
"Fellow Daoist, have a look. This is a magical treasure level Flying Sword. We acquired three such artifacts, which is why we believe the relic belonged to a Golden Core stage force."
Ji An took the Flying Sword, examined it closely, and subtly nodded; the materials in this magical treasure indeed contained Tier Three spiritual objects.
Merely selling this broken magical treasure’s material would undoubtedly fetch over a dozen top-grade Spirit Stones, not to mention it still had remaining dharma prohibitions.
For Artifact Refiners, such magical treasures have significant reference value.
He immersed himself in thought, weighing the pros and cons.
Zhang Le and Yuan Hong sat quietly, without urging; they knew full well what concerns Ji An had.
Truthfully, if they were to be invited in a similar manner, they’d also ponder carefully.
After a brief pause, Ji An spoke:
"Could you describe the scenery inside the relic? More information won’t affect my judgment."