Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 428 Another Top-Grade Spirit Peach

The Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag rapidly shrank and merged into Ji An's body, flowing along his immortal meridians into his dantian and quietly entering the yellow spiritual flames.

He nodded with satisfaction, got up and lit a plate of incense in the beast-ear furnace, the smoke curling upwards.

The current situation is better than initially estimated; the rest depends on the actual situation after the Azure Lotus Treasure Flag is obtained.

His fellow disciples all said that using the Yuanming Fire to refine too many top-grade spiritual artifacts would be too much of a burden for him; whether that was true for him remained to be seen until he tried.

The Wood Element Spirit Flame is the most powerful of the Primordial Life Flames, and it has now reached a point where it cannot be increased any further, likely reaching the limit of the Origin Rebirth stage.

Ji An still had considerable confidence.

He sat cross-legged on the futon again, took out a Canglan Baoguang Pill and swallowed it, then began to refine it by circulating his cultivation technique.

In order to gather more spiritual energy in the cold pool, he would take pills and cultivate in his cave or the Ministry of Agriculture.

As one cultivates the Five Elements Cycle Water Path Chapter, the spiritual energy contained in the elixir is rapidly extracted, and the trickling streams in the immortal veins converge into a surging river.

The sound of waves emanated from his body, as if he were on the sea at high tide.

Within the acupoint, two Water Path Seeds flashed light alternately, their mysterious aura blending into the wisps of Water Path Qi.

The water-based Qi flows and changes within the veins, and is then absorbed by the core of the Divine Palace.

The kidneys are a deep color, with swirling cloud-like patterns on their surface, occasionally shimmering with a watery sheen.

The divine palace displays five colors: blue, red, yellow, white, and black, with a hazy spiritual light that waxes and wanes in brightness.

About half an hour later, the sound of the waves gradually subsided, and the medicinal power of the Canglan Baoguang Pill was completely refined.

Ji An stopped practicing his internal energy and opened his eyes. A strange phenomenon of surging water flashed in his pupils. Light and shadow flickered on the rock walls of the cave, like the reflection of a lake under the moon at night when the wind blows.

The next day.

Ji An stepped out of the cave, bathed in the mountain breeze, rode the clouds down, and landed by the cold pool.

Just as dawn was breaking, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers—peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, mulberry blossoms—a medley of scents that was utterly intoxicating.

Wei Songtao was organizing his tools. He had hired his disciples to do some work today, and they were sawing some Xuan Yang wood powder to store up.

Seeing the golden auspicious clouds descend, he immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled:
"Good morning, Grandmaster!"

Ji An responded with a smile and said kindly:
"Good morning, I need to inform your brother that I need Wood Essence. Please ask him to help me purchase it, no limit."

The day when the merchant ships arrive in the Western Continent is not far off, at which time a large amount of wood essence will be needed to cultivate the spirituality of the Azure Lotus Banner.

These kinds of essences are relatively easy to obtain in the Western Continent, and there is no need to stockpile them too far in advance.

He only had a little over 14,000 strands of Azure Spirit-Seizing Fiend in his hand. Even if the Azure Lotus Treasure Banner had high enough spirituality, he still needed to use Wood Element Essence to replenish it.

"Okay, I'll take the message to Xiaozhushan today."

Wei Songtao grinned and said, "The Five Elements Essence is a major spiritual item with a stable price. If we buy it all up, we can even push the price down a bit."

Judging from the meaning behind the master's words, such transactions will continue for many years, and the family will have another source of wealth.

Ji An nodded slightly. He could now sense the decay emanating from Wei Songtao, like an old tree gradually withering away. He needed to hurry up and find a new housekeeper.

Tian Tiezhu's lifespan won't last much longer, and a suitable replacement will have to be found.

After a moment's thought, Ji An took out his communication talisman sword, entered the information, and activated it. He asked Liang Qiu to help him find a suitable candidate.

At the summit of Chaoyang Peak, golden auspicious clouds descended from the sky.

Sunlight shone on the plaque, making the three large characters "Wuji Hall" shine brightly.

The doors to the main hall were open, and you could see two large, three-legged bronze incense burners, each the size of a bucket, placed near the entrance.

Wisps of smoke rose straight up.

"This disciple requests an audience with the Ancestor."

The golden light illuminated Ji An's profile, revealing his resolute features.

"Come in!"

Upon seeing his disciple enter the main hall, Master Zhengyang spread his arms and said kindly:
"Excellent, this is a great state. It seems you are not far from the perfection of the Water Divine Palace. Sit down and let's talk!"

He saw that his disciple's face was as clear as jade, and the precious light in his pupils was deep and profound, and he was even more satisfied.

Even Li Haoran, with his exceptional talent, couldn't keep up with this disciple's cultivation speed. He felt that he would see more than one disciple break through to the Golden Core stage in his lifetime.

"Thank you for the seat, Ancestor."

Ji An sat down, exchanged pleasantries, and then explained his purpose:
“My Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner has made further progress yesterday, and its spirituality has met the requirements of the Ancestor. I have come here to earnestly request the Ancestor to grant me the authority to suppress the evil spirits in the Netherworld.”

As he spoke, he summoned his magical artifact.

The precious artifacts fluttered, and the golden unicorn pattern on the flag radiated a warm yellow light, while a deep and powerful roar echoed in the hall.

The incense in the main hall suddenly spread, and the iron horses under the eaves outside the hall neighed.

"Good, the aura is powerful. It is indeed the divine will of the Earth Qilin that suppresses the four directions and encompasses all things."

Master Zhengyang laughed heartily. His natal magic weapon was earth-elemental, which allowed him to discern the level of spirituality of the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner.

He took out a golden communication sword, activated it, and said:
"I have already informed Jia Yu that you may use the Netherworld Soul-Suppressing Demon at will."

He never delayed fulfilling his disciples' legitimate needs, provided, of course, that the secret treasury contained them.

"Thank you, ancestor."

Ji An felt more at ease and asked:
"Ancestor, how many strands of spirit energy can these sects store each year?"

"What, are you trying to probe the sect's resources?"

Master Zhengyang smiled and said:
"I don't need to keep this information from you; let me tell you slowly."

He drank half a cup of tea, looked down at the ground, and began to speak in a deep voice.

"Chaoyang Peak is the most core node of the main spiritual vein and also the most important array node of the sect's mountain-protecting array."

Actually, this is a volcano, and compared to this, Crimson Flame Peak is just a minor player.

Back then, the sect spent a huge amount of money to seal off the entire volcano and fill it with soil and rocks, using fire to generate soil and nourish the earth's veins.

The Crimson Dragon's Hidden Abyss Evil is formed in the lava lake beneath Chaoyang Peak, and now more than 30,000 strands can be obtained annually.

He raised his head and asked:
Have you ever heard of Yin-Yang Earth Veins?

"Never."

Ji An shook his head blankly. Array masters need to be familiar with the knowledge of earth veins, and he currently does not have the energy to learn the way of arrays, so he does not pay much attention to it.

Master Zhengyang smiled and drank another half cup of tea to moisten his throat.

"Yin-Yang veins refer to a combination of male and female, yin and yang. This type of vein has a significant characteristic: as long as the quality of the yang vein is cultivated, the quality of the yin vein will naturally rise as well."

Chaoyang Peak is the core node of the Yang meridian, while Yunhe Mountain is the core node of the Yin meridian. The fire meridian of Chaoyuan Peak, however, nourishes the dry soil of Yunhe Mountain.

Ji An stared in disbelief and exclaimed:

"The wonders of creation are beyond my comprehension. Ancestor, what is the reason behind this?"

Chaoyuan Yangfeng is 1,200 miles away from Yunhe Mountain. He couldn't have imagined that there would be such a connection between them.

Master Zhengyang shook his head and let out a long breath:

"I don't know either. There are no records of this in the sect's heritage. But we only need to know that these two spiritual veins are connected."

There is an underground river at the foot of Yunhe Mountain. The sect built a grand formation to extract the water veins and turn dry soil into wet soil. The clash between water and fire formed the Netherworld Earth Soul-Suppressing Evil, which can generate more than 25,000 strands of spiritual evil every year.

Both of these spiritual energy sources are considered part of the sect's core resources, sealed away in a secret vault and never leaked out. They are only used when disciples cultivate top-grade spiritual artifacts.

"Ancestor, will using different types of malevolent energy to nurture a spiritual weapon have any effect on it?"

"Yes, taking the Netherworld Soul-Suppressing Qi as an example, using this kind of evil energy to cultivate the spirituality of a spiritual artifact will make the artifact more inclusive and have a calming effect on the soul."

We know that the divine meaning of the Earth element includes several aspects such as weight, bearing, inclusiveness, and soothing the soul.

The heavy and sturdy nature leans towards the way of Earth (戊土), while the inclusive and comforting nature leans towards the way of Earth (己土).

Using Netherworld Soil as a material can make spiritual artifacts more stable to the soul and provide better protection against soul attacks.

It also possesses some protective power against evil spirits, making it better suited to dealing with wandering ghosts and spirits.

"And the Earth element directly enhances the defensive power provided by the spiritual weapon."

However, it doesn't matter what kind of malevolent energy you use to cultivate a spiritual artifact; it doesn't really matter, because even if a spirit is cultivated, you can still use the malevolent energy of the Earth element to enhance the defensive power of its spiritual light.

Ji An scratched his head and laughed:
"So that's how it is. I thought that using spiritual energy to cultivate a spirit would solve everything, but little did I know that there was still a long way to go."

"Ancestor, may I continue using the Crimson Dragon Hidden Abyss Fiend?"

It is important to continue using the Spirit Fiend to enhance the attack power of the Ground Flame Banner.

Master Zhengyang shook his head, "Let's leave some resources for the younger generation. The sect's spiritual energy reserves are not much, only a few million strands."

As the sect grows, the number of disciples in the Chaoyuan stage will increase, and one day it may not be able to guarantee the use of all those who meet the requirements.

Therefore, the sect's rules stipulate that once a spirit weapon is cultivated, the same spiritual energy cannot be used again, even if you change to a different spirit weapon.

The sect's wealth is accumulated little by little. If the younger generation does not cherish it and uses it carelessly, the sect cannot achieve long-term development.

Ji An chuckled and prepared to inquire about the availability of any spiritual energy for sale once the cultivators from the Central Continent arrived.

He still had some second-tier high-grade spirit fruits, and there were also several high-grade Azure Dragon Woods in Crimson Flame Peak, so he had a lot of resources at his disposal.

Master Zhengyang said in a deep voice:
"Your most important task now is to seize the time to cultivate the Water Element Divine Palace to perfection and experience the profound mystery of the mutual generation of the five elements as soon as possible."

This process may be lengthy; be prepared.

When all five palaces are opened, the power of the five elements will spontaneously flow, but this is not the case that the five elements generate each other.

Even for cultivators with profound foundations, a sudden enlightenment requires a specific opportunity, let alone five such enlightenments.

At this point, the cultivator's own aptitude and talent can no longer provide assistance; they can only rely on their comprehension.

However, even with the strongest comprehension, it's all in vain if you can't seize the right opportunity.

He was somewhat worried about Ji An and Li Haoran. Both of them had made rapid progress in their cultivation in the past. If they did not make a breakthrough for a long time, the sense of loss they felt would be far greater than that of those cultivators whose cultivation was relatively slow.

Noticing the patriarch's tone, Ji An nodded solemnly and smiled:
"I understand, but I am confident that I am not lacking in resilience."

When he first transmigrated, there was no stone tortoise yet, and he could only rely on himself, so he had a pretty good mental fortitude.

He was very familiar with self-comfort and self-hypnosis in his previous life.

Master Zhengyang raised an eyebrow, his worries lessening slightly.

"This disciple takes his leave," Ji An said, stepping back out of the Wuji Hall. Black clouds rose from beneath his feet, supporting the mountainside.

The black clouds ridden by cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage are completely different from those of the demon kings. Although the clouds are as black as ink, they are full of pure spiritual light and have the sound of surging waves.

In terms of speed, the golden cloud is the fastest, followed by the fire cloud, but other types of auspicious clouds also have their own unique features.

Water Cloud can travel through the vast ocean, absorbing water energy to replenish itself, with very low consumption of magical power.

Dark clouds descended upon the treasure pavilion, and Ji An strode into the main hall.

Jia Yu put down his wine gourd, touched his red nose, and said with a smile:
"After the message from the Ancestor arrived, I waited here for my junior brother's arrival. I didn't expect it to be such a long wait."

He pointed to the yellow jade bottle on the table, "The Netherworld Soul-Suppressing Demon is here, Junior Brother, please use it."

The jade bottle is inlaid with densely packed runes, and its interior glows with a soft light, giving it a special sense of tranquility.

Ji An cupped his hands in greeting, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Senior Brother. I'll talk to you after I've nourished the spiritual weapon."

The apricot-yellow flag of Wuji flew out from Dantian, fluttering in the air, as if being swept by a strong wind, its sound fluttering.

He made a hand seal to break the magical seal on the jade bottle, and strands of radiant spiritual light spread out like clouds, spreading a calming and soothing divine power.

The roar of the Qilin resounded from the main hall, causing the ground to tremble.

The apricot-yellow flag grew larger again, and the qilin on the flag seemed to come alive, even opening its mouth.

The immense suction force devoured the wisps of spiritual energy that were spreading outwards, yet it had no effect on anything else—a truly miraculous phenomenon.

A moment later, the apricot-yellow flag shrank and flew back into its master's body, entering his dantian.

Jia Yu sighed, "Junior brother already has two top-grade spiritual weapons, which are good for both offense and defense. There are not many fellow disciples who can defeat you in a battle."

There were a total of 240 strands of spiritual energy, amounting to 80 minor merits.

Ji An took out the jade token and handed it over, revealing a polite smile:

"I'm just a spirit farmer, I'm not interested in fighting and killing. These spirit artifacts are just for self-defense."

He is now confident that he can surpass all his peers, because he is truly good at both offense and defense.

After leaving the treasure pavilion, Ji An arrived at Ningcui Cliff. Today was the day to perform the spell on the spirit field again.

He has been in charge of these medicinal herb gardens for over fifty years, and now the medicinal herbs are generally around four hundred years old.

If they hadn't traveled abroad, the medicinal herbs would be close to six hundred years old, and some would already be ready to be harvested.

After circling the four medicinal gardens on the mountainside, Ji An returned to the spiritual vein node at the mountain peak.

The Azure Dragon Awakening Technique, the Yellow Dragon Enhancing Vitality Technique, and other planting spells were unleashed from his hands. The Azure Dragon roared in the sky, the earth trembled, and the nourishing spiritual rain fell like crystal white jade.

As the mist rose, Ji An stepped into the passageway leading to the platform.

He walked through the light curtain, glanced at the spiritual plants as usual, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he grinned silently.

The leaves of the two spirit peach trees shone with the same bright spiritual light, and amethyst bees buzzed around the trees, dancing joyfully.

Moreover, on the thicker peach tree, many flower buds the size of soybeans were showing.

"Two top-grade spirit peaches, and one of them has blossomed. Wonderful!"

(End of this chapter)