Chapter 555 - 456: Gu Mingyuan_2
The red land still had four acres that could be cultivated, so he decided to plant all of it with Pearl Blood Rice.
He sowed the spirit seeds and sequentially cast the Yellow Dragon Essence Enhancement Skill and Cloud Dragon Rain Technique.
As the nourishing spirit rain fell, the spirit seedlings broke through the soil, swaying in the rain like flames burning in water, with red-striped green seedlings.
Ji An left the Gourd World and exited the grotto mansion, arriving at Xuelan Street half an hour later.
He entered the Sunx’s Spiritual Rice Shop and said warmly:
"I would like to purchase a thousand pounds of Pearl Blood Rice."
Saying so, he took out fifteen pieces of middle-grade spirit stones and placed them in front of the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper glanced at him and quickly collected the spirit stones on the counter. A thousand pounds was just a small transaction and not worth his attention.
The clerk in the shop brought out the spirit rice, weighed it, and handed the bag to Ji An, saying, "Senior, please take it."
Ji An nodded slightly, stored the bag into the Void Realm Space, and asked:
"I’m planning to plant some Pearl Blood Rice in the spirit field, what yield per acre is considered qualified?"
The shopkeeper beside him smiled meaningfully and coughed twice, saying:
"Fellow Taoist, if our Sunx clan plants it, the average yield per acre is close to five hundred pounds, and the best spirit fields can reach up to six hundred pounds.
However, spirit rice requires special soil to be high-yield, and leaving Red Cloud Mountain, if you can achieve a yield of two hundred pounds per acre, it’s considered good."
Many forces have tried planting Pearl Blood Rice, but after so many years, the Sunx clan still monopolizes the business.
"I see," Ji An felt relieved. It seemed the spirit rice yield in the Gourd World was quite good!
As he walked out of the shop, the clerk lowered his voice and said:
"Every few years, there are some fanciful cultivators who want to plant Pearl Blood Rice. They don’t consider that if other regions could achieve high yields, why wouldn’t big families like the Zhou Clan and Wey Clan take a share!"
The shopkeeper put on a deliberately serious face, saying:
"Let’s just keep this to ourselves, don’t speak it out."
How could we speak ill of customers!
The clerk grinned, "Got it."
...
In the following days, Ji An reduced his time spent refining elixirs by half.
In the past two years, his alchemy skills have improved significantly. He could now adeptly refine Foundation Establishment Pills and Nourishing Yuan Pills, and didn’t need to spend extra time honing his skills.
The time saved was used for drawing talismans and practicing magic techniques outside the Immortal City.
Time flew swiftly, and two months passed quickly. Ji An rode a cloud to Black Tortoise Snow Mountain.
This mountain range stretched eight hundred miles and belonged to the Gu Clan. Its slopes were gentle, and the main peak resembled a giant turtle, hence the name.
He descended and introduced himself, saying:
"My name is Ji An, and I have an appointment with Brother Gu Mingyuan."
His host was an elderly cultivator at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment level, with gray hair and a wrinkled face.
"Senior, please wait a moment, I’ll inform Sixth Uncle immediately."
Ji An looked at the elder’s aged face and sighed softly in his heart.
Soon, Gu Mingyuan arrived riding a cloud, "Fellow Daoist, thank you for waiting, please come with me."
He took Ji An to a cave at the foot of the mountain, saying:
"I’ll send fellow Daoist inside. Yesterday, the Metal Element Spirit Mechanism became restless, so the miners withdrew from the cave. They’ll return once the spirit tide is over.
This time, there are two other cultivators accompanying you; I hope you don’t mind."
The mine was relatively dark, and visibility was low.
The gold element spiritual qi surged, and the luminous beads embedded in the cave had long been shattered into powder.
"There’s no need for formal courtesy; I’m grateful just to have a place, not to mention any other privileges."
Ji An replied with a smile. It was their family’s business, and being allowed to cut in was already good enough; he didn’t have any other extravagant desires.
"By the way, I haven’t asked you yet. How many spirit stones do you need this time, and how do other cultivators usually pay?"
Friendship is friendship, and business is business; they shouldn’t be mixed. The required spirit stones should not be lessened, and waiting for them to bring it up would only portray him as slow-witted.
"Other cultivators deposit a sum of middle-grade spirit stones here; if it’s not enough, they add more. If they don’t use it all and realize the divine intent of Five Elements Mutual Generation, we’ll refund the remaining spirit stones."
"How many spirit stones should be deposited? Are there specific requirements?"
"Three hundred pieces."
Ji An handed over the spirit stones to the opposite party, "Please accept it, fellow Daoist."
In his previous life, he learned the principle that it’s crucial to keep clear accounts when dealing with people. Though it may lessen the warmth, the relationship can last longer.
If someone uses friendship as an excuse not to keep accounts clear, they shouldn’t be deeply connected with one another.
"Then I’ll accept it," Gu Mingyuan did not feign politeness.
The two quickly moved down the mine, and Ji An soon sensed the presence of the Metal Element Spirit Mechanism; its intensity grew stronger the deeper they went.
"Comprehending the gold generating water is not an easy task. During a gold element spirit tide, it feels like being stabbed a thousand times, and that feeling is quite painful.
Sometimes I feel choosing magic cultivation was a mistake; breaking through to the Golden Core might be easier for body cultivators."
Gu Mingyuan lamented. He had witnessed many cultivators understanding the divine intent of gold generating water but had seen even more cultivators stuck at this step, delaying for years.
Without enough accumulation of the Five Elements, it’s just impossible to comprehend it.
On the other hand, those body cultivators consistently nurtured their qi and blood and refined their bodies year after year, yielding results as long as they persisted earnestly.
Ji An smiled and said:
"Since I’ve chosen the path to comprehend Five Elements Mutual Generation, I’ve prepared myself. Such difficulties are not worth worrying about."
When refining the Dao Rhyme to cultivate the Metal Dao Seed, the suffering he endured was more than just a thousand cuts!
Gu Mingyuan raised his eyebrows and nodded with a smile:
"You have a very positive mindset, fellow Daoist."
Without personal experience, one wouldn’t know the depth of the challenge. He was not optimistic about the other’s bold spirit.
Understanding the divine intent of the metal technique under the premise of bodily torment is immensely difficult; only those who achieve it know.
After about half an hour, Gu Mingyuan pointed to a forked path and said:
"It’s at the very bottom of this tunnel; I won’t accompany you inside."
He couldn’t bear the pain of the gold element spiritual qi slicing at his skin. The main reason was that he hadn’t yet reached the step of comprehending Five Elements Mutual Generation, so accompanying him would be enduring meaningless pain.
"Thank you for the escort, fellow Daoist; see you later."
Ji An stepped into the tunnel. Although he could now use the Gold Escape Technique to travel, to stay low-key, he still chose to walk.
As he continued downward, he discovered a light source deep inside.
Although the light was dim, for his eyes, it was like a world under the setting sun.
The light grew brighter as Ji An reached the bottom of the tunnel, where he saw two cultivators meditating, sitting far apart.
Both looked up, noticing an unfamiliar cultivator, and immediately lost interest.
The stone cave shimmered with a rainbow of colors from the various crystals embedded in the rock reflecting light.
Ji An took in their expressions but did not attempt to make acquaintance; instead, he walked quietly to a corner to carefully sense the changes within the gold element spiritual qi.
The thin strands of golden spiritual qi struck his body like tiny bullets, but compared to the pain from refining Metal Element Dao Rhyme, it was negligible.
Recently, experiencing the mysteries of Fire Generates Earth, his understanding of Five Elements Mutual Generation was the transformation driven by Yin Yang changes.
Yin and Yang combined, formulating stable Five Elements Qi, within which Yang ascends and Yin descends, creating a chance for Five Elements Mutual Generation.
To speak of Five Elements Mutual Generation, one must discern the Yin Yang changes within the spiritual qi.
Take Gold Element Spiritual Qi, where Geng Metal represents Yang and Xin Metal represents Yin; together, they form complete Metal Qi.
The outbreak of a spirit tide might result from the separation of Yin and Yang.
At this moment, there was instability within the gold element spiritual qi, responding with a separation of Yin and Yang.
Since the metal element spirit tide is still brewing, with no clear idea of when it will fully erupt, he could only wait quietly.
Three days later, Ji An left the mine with excitement in his heart.
He had truly felt the circumstance of a spirit tide eruption; his theories still held water, though they weren’t entirely complete.
If he were to claim understanding of some Five Elements Power, Ji An would confidently state his deepest insight is into Gold Element Spiritual Qi.
To say nothing else, the top-grade Metal Dao Seed gave him ample confidence.