Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 422 Azure Deer Breakthrough
Most demonic beasts possess a grayish-black aura, resembling the thick smoke emitted from burning damp wood, a sign of their chaotic bloodlines.

The demonic aura of pure-blooded beasts tends to be clearer. The demonic aura of the Azure Deer is azure with only a few specks of gray mixed in, which can be easily missed if one doesn't look closely.

Monsters instinctively purify their bloodline because the purer the bloodline, the less resistance there is to improvement. Once the impurities in the bloodline are completely removed, they become spirit beasts.

Essentially, Golden Core stage demonic beasts are all spirit beasts, capable of refining the transverse bone in their throats and speaking human language.

The demon kings' demonic aura was as black as ink, a legacy of the demon beast system, containing primal bestiality.

Human cultivators raise and tame beasts, aiming to minimize their bestial nature and increase their spirituality.

If the beast cannot coordinate with its master during battle, its effectiveness will be limited.

The green deer's body size visibly increased, and its antlers resembled rapidly growing tree branches, becoming even thicker.

It let out a howl, filled with suppressed pain.

Regardless of the type of living being, a significant advancement in one's realm is a complete transformation, a reshaping and rebirth, where the essence of life subtly changes.

Breaking down barriers is impossible without experiencing pain. How can stubborn iron become tempered steel without undergoing countless quenching and forging processes?
As far as human cultivators are concerned, although high-level cultivators still look like humans, they are actually considered a different species.

According to Ji An's understanding, the process of a cultivator's continuous growth is the process of continuous mutation of genes.

The surging demonic energy could not be fully controlled by the Azure Deer; much of it dissipated from its body and could not participate in the transformation of the demonic form.

The demonic energy spread in all directions like a raging storm, as if a bomb had been dropped. The shockwave snapped many nearby Qingling bamboos, and the bamboos in the distance fell over.

Ji An remained unmoved. The reason he chose this place for his beast taming to break through was because the environment was beneficial to wood-elemental spirit beasts.

For him, damaged spirit bamboo could be replanted, but the value of a Chaoyuan-stage beast far exceeded that of these spirit bamboos.

The demonic energy of the Azure Deer continued to rise, but it was bound by an invisible barrier and could not break through to the Chaoyuan stage.

Gradually, its demonic aura began to wane, its strength waning.

If it were a wild monster, it would only have two choices at this point: either burn its remaining life force and bet everything, or give up on breaking through and wait for the next opportunity.

Choosing the first method means that even if you survive, you'll be half-dead if you lose. The second method causes less damage, but you'll need to recuperate for decades before you have a chance to fight again.

However, since monsters have long lifespans, most would choose the second option.

Ji An had anticipated this and threw out two second-tier high-grade Biluo fruits in succession.

He learned from his senior sister He Yuhan that the Bimu Lingxi Pill had a long-lasting effect, enough to sustain him for twelve hours.

If one has sufficient aptitude for beast taming, such a long period of time can definitely support a breakthrough. The only difficulty is that too much demonic power is wasted, which cannot facilitate the evolution of the demonic body.

Unlike the Five-Colored Deer, a mythical beast of heaven and earth, the Green Deer does not need to balance the five elements within its body, making its breakthrough much easier.

The green deer opened its mouth, bit into the spirit fruit, chewed it casually a couple of times, and swallowed it whole, pit and all.

With the replenishment of spiritual fruits, its demonic power was able to maintain its vigorous momentum.

About half an hour later, as if a river had burst its banks, the demonic power of the Azure Deer surged once again.

At the same time, its body suddenly swelled up, reaching twice its previous size, and vine-like patterns, either emerald green or withered yellow, grew on its back.

The brown antlers resembled withered branches battered by a storm, breaking off inch by inch, and two new pale blue antlers, each about an inch long and as thick as a thumb, grew back.

As it swayed, the light on its horns flickered.

The green deer opened its mouth wide to breathe, and the spiritual energy in the bamboo forest, full of purity, was swallowed up by it, further reducing the gray impurities in its demonic power.

Where it stands, tender green grass grows.

"YoYo!"

The high-pitched voice soared into the sky, revealing boundless joy within it.

The deer's pupils were emerald green, like a still pool of water in the green mountains.

It looked at its master gratefully, then knelt on the ground, closed its eyes, and began to digest the memories of its bloodline inheritance.

As a direct descendant of the Five-Colored Deer, it will unlock more bloodline memories as it continues to improve.

This is the advantage of race. Some monsters have too shallow a foundation. Even if they are promoted to a higher level, they do not have more talent spells to learn. They can only rely on their brute strength and stronger physique.

With Qinglu's breakthrough successful, Ji An saw no need to stay and rode away on a green auspicious cloud.

At this moment, the rock-armored bear crouched outside the bamboo forest, and Wei Songtao and others gathered in the distance, gazing at this place. The golden-feathered eagle circled twice above the bamboo forest and silently rose up and flew towards the mountain peak.

The big yellow dog was startled by the powerful demonic energy that had just erupted, and it was filled with fear.

It used to bully the green deer quite a bit, but now that the power dynamic has reversed, that deer might not know how to deal with it in the future.

Thinking of this, it slowly got up and tiptoed away.

It decided that it would avoid meeting the blue deer as much as possible in the future, and would only stay on the south and north sides of the mountain.

The Azure Deer's territory is in the Jade Leaf Mulberry Forest, and it has never set foot in the Fire Elemental Plant Garden.

Ji An landed beside the disciples who were observing the situation and gave the instructions:
"Today, the Azure Deer has broken through to become a beast of the Chaoyuan stage. After it leaves the bamboo forest, you should tidy up the bamboo forest, cut down all the damaged spiritual bamboo, and transplant bamboo shoots."

"Songtao, after we're done, give everyone ten spirit stones as a reward, so we can all share in the joy."

"As ordered."

Everyone responded loudly, and Zhang Xuening's eyes curved into crescents. This was the first time she had received a reward!

"Go ahead and get busy," Ji An waved his hand, took out the water-repelling pearl and the luminous pearl, and dived into the cold pool.

The water lilies at the bottom of the water emit a blue glow, and their leaves are already as big as pot lids, attracting a large number of fish.

The Pure Water Lotus grows on a second-tier high-grade spiritual vein node, and is now at the second-tier low-grade level.

Only when it produces lotus seeds and grows more spiritual lotuses will it strengthen the water veins.

Ji An took out a large, round wooden plank from the void space, laid it on the silt, and then took out a futon. He sat cross-legged in the center and began to circulate the Water Element chapter of the Five Elements Revolving Sutra.

As he circulated the cultivation technique, the water elemental energy was captured by his breath, and countless tiny black water elemental essences, each the size of a sesame seed, flew out of the pool and entered his mouth and nose.

The water in the pool began to flow clockwise, and gradually a slow eddy appeared.

The spiritual energy flows like water within the immortal veins, creating a sound similar to flowing water within the body, sometimes slow and sometimes rapid.

When calm, it is like a tranquil lake, undisturbed and exceptionally peaceful; when turbulent, it is like a stormy sea, with deafening roars that shake the soul.

The two water-borne seeds have a deep, dark color with alternating light and shadow.

When the flow of spiritual energy slows down, the Gui Water Dao Seed shines brightly, and its subtle and pervasive Dharma power permeates the air.

When the spiritual energy flows and surges like waves, the radiance of the Gui Water Dao Seed fades, while the Ren Water Dao Seed flourishes, like a flood flowing through a canyon, with waves upon waves spreading endlessly.

Ji Anxin had an epiphany: flowing water is formless, and the water is still the same water, unchanged. But when still, it nourishes all things, and when in motion, it creates turbulent waves. Between stillness and motion, yin and yang transform, exhibiting completely different characteristics.

The kidneys shone with a gentle, luminous glow, water vapor flowed, the wood element in the spirit palace was lush and green, and after the wood energy rose, the fire element in the spirit palace was surrounded by a red glow.

The movement extended to the Earth Element Divine Palace, where the yellow spiritual light was as heavy as a mountain, while the Metal Element Divine Palace gathered its sharpness and concealed its power. The cultivation technique circulated for one cycle, refining the spiritual energy into magical power, which flowed into the dantian. Like a gentle rain from heaven, the stone tortoise opened its mouth and swallowed a large amount of magical power.

Time passed unnoticed during cultivation. When Ji An finished his cultivation and left the cold pool, the night wind was already cold and the waning moon was hazy.

The spiritual energy stored in the pool was sufficient for his cultivation, but because of the excessive consumption, the spiritual fish received less nourishment, making it difficult to raise large fish in the future.

Ji An rode the golden cloud back to his cave, nourished the Crimson Cloud Pine with his magic power, then entered the quiet room, took out the Flame Light Banner that had left the ground, and nourished it with the essence of fire.

The next day.

Ji An teleported to Ningcui Cliff and arrived at the Si Nong Hall, where he saw two deputy hall masters waiting outside the back hall.

"Greetings, Lord of the Palace."

"No need for formalities," Ji An said, lifting the restrictions on the main hall. "Let's talk inside."

After everyone was seated, Ji An asked suspiciously:

"Has anything happened in the palace these past few days?"

Even when the two of them reported to him, they wouldn't wait at the door early, which he assumed meant they must have encountered something difficult.

Kong Yunyi said in a deep voice:

"Lord, all is well."

Occasionally, some group members would have disagreements, which Vice Hall Master Yang and I could mediate. However, these disagreements have become more and more frequent in recent years.

The magical abilities of fellow disciples vary, and some cultivators with lower-level abilities can negatively impact the group's overall gains, inevitably causing dissatisfaction among other members.

Kong Yunyi smiled wryly. This was unavoidable. If a group of three cultivators had reached the perfect level of magic while the others had only reached the great level, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction.

He paused and then said:

"Palace Master, we must have a set of rules, otherwise it will affect unity."

Ji An nodded slightly. Such situations are inevitable in team collaboration. What needs to be done now is to set prices for each job.

Do you have a solution?

Yang Qi cleared his throat with a light cough and said:

"Vice Hall Master Yang and I believe that we need to clarify the role of each person in order to better resolve the dispute. But the difficulty lies here: we must find a method that can convince everyone."

We've been racking our brains these past few days and finally came up with a solution. We'll report it to the temple master and see if there are any areas for improvement.

We plan to designate some low-grade spirit fields to plant yellow-sprout rice for comparison, and select cultivators of different spell levels to cultivate it.

Ji An understood what the other party meant. Although this method could not guarantee absolute fairness, it was much more reasonable.

"Good. Announce this decision at the next meeting. What are your more specific plans?"

“Select the best individuals who have mastered various spells at different levels, divide them into different groups to plant, and the results will be available within a month.”

Ji An frowned slightly and said:

"Since we're doing a comparative experiment, let's get it all right at once. We'll select disciples to each be responsible for a piece of spiritual field, two to be responsible for one field, and three to be responsible for one field at the same time to make a comparison."

Disciples who have mastered spells at the same level form a group, and disciples at different levels also form a group, trying out all the possible combinations.

If possible, involve more disciples; a larger sample size ensures a fairer conclusion.

Finally, we'll discuss a distribution plan with everyone.

Not only Foundation Establishment stage disciples, but also Qi Refining stage disciples participated.

Unequal distribution of spoils can affect unity, so let's establish rules in front of everyone to ensure everyone is convinced of the fairness of the deal.

Yang Qi cupped his hands and said:
“The Palace Master’s considerations are thorough. We will return now to discuss the details.”

Ji An nodded. "I need to go to Chaoyang Peak today. You can make decisions on what to do. If there are any major issues, report them using the communication golden sword."

In fact, he, the Palace Master of the Ministry of Agriculture, had a very leisurely life. Ever since the demon cultivator Qingjiao was killed by the combined forces of the three sects' Golden Core warriors, things had been peaceful for many years.

"As ordered."

Kong Yunyi responded loudly, understanding that the other party was going to skip work, but the Palace Master had never been one to meddle in other people's business, so it didn't matter whether he stayed in the Palace or not.

Ji An walked out of the main hall and flew away on a cloud.

Golden auspicious clouds descended on the mountainside of Chaoyang Peak. Ji An strode into the hall, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

The main hall was empty. Senior Brother Jia was nowhere to be found; he was probably in the secret vault taking inventory.

A moment later, Jia Yu returned from outside the hall and smiled when he saw the seated cultivator:

"Junior brother has come here today to receive offerings."

Ji An scratched his head, "Senior brother, don't spell it out!"

"I'll get it for you."

"Senior brother, wait a moment. I'd like to exchange for some more Azure Light Pills. My cultivation broke through yesterday, and I'll need them later."

Jia Yu bared her teeth and glared, "Your cultivation speed has already surpassed Junior Brother Li Haoran's! Does the Ancestor know about this?"

His expression was complicated. He knew his junior brother's resume very well. When he entered the sect, he only had a mid-grade aptitude. Normally, such talent would only stop at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

One can improve their aptitude through cultivation, but it is an extremely slow process. There are countless cultivators with low aptitude in the world, but how many can persevere until their aptitude improves?

"I haven't told you yet."

Ji An shook his head. In the past, if he made progress, he would definitely let more people know as soon as possible, so as to increase his importance in the eyes of others. Now he doesn't have such an urgent need.

"Tell the ancestor later, he will be very happy. I will fetch the offerings for you first."

Jia Yu broke the magical barrier, strode into the secret vault, and quickly retrieved the relevant items.

Two jade bottles, a soul-nourishing pendant, ten boxes of soul incense, and three high-grade spirit stones.

The Soul-Nourishing Wood planted by the sect has also been upgraded to the second-tier mid-grade, taking more than two hundred years.

Jia Yu pointed to the jade bottle and said, "One bottle contains Heavenly Water Soul Cleansing Pills, and the other contains Azure Treasure Light Pills, ten of each."

The price is 1,500 small merits per piece. After deducting the offering of two pieces, you will need to pay 27,000 small merits.

Ji An took out his identity jade token and handed it over, saying, "The Water Elemental Elixir is really expensive."

The Wood and Fire elemental pills are the cheapest, costing one thousand small merits each.

"There's no way around it. No sect can refine the gold and water elemental elixirs at the Chaoyuan stage. Such elixirs are scarce throughout the Western Continent, so the cultivators from the Central Continent are naturally emboldened to raise prices."

(End of this chapter)