Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 430 Gift of Treasure
While Ji An was breaking through, Jia Yu and others sat around a stone table by the cold pool at the foot of the mountain, with three disciples, including Wei Songtao, serving them.

When they arrived together in the evening, they learned that their master had returned to his cave to cultivate, so they decided not to disturb him further.

Everyone ate pine nuts and drank spiritual wine and tea, occasionally looking up at Crimson Flame Peak.

Zhu Xiangrong scratched his head and said:
"Senior Brother Chu couldn't predict exactly when this volcano would erupt, only saying it would be within three or four days. In my opinion, we should wait at least two more days."

"It looks kind of silly of us to just sit here and wait."

Before a volcanic eruption, black smoke will completely obscure the golden and fire spirit mist; that is the true sign.

Jia Yu drank a cup of crimson wine, grinning broadly:

"Senior brother, you can return to Mount Chitong to rest for the time being. I will inform you of the news again before the eruption of Mount Chiyan."

He really enjoyed the atmosphere; he was drinking freely.

Before he arrived, he left a message outside the main hall of the treasure pavilion, declaring that he would be leaving for a few days, and hung several golden swords for communication, imprinted with his magical mark, which could be activated in case of emergency.

Zhu Xiangrong hurriedly shook his head and raised the teacup in his hand:

"It's quite nice here. I would never be willing to drink such strong Gyokuro Golden Bud Tea."

A second-tier top-grade volcanic eruption can stir up spiritual creatures deeper within the earth's fire veins, and with good luck, one might even encounter a third-tier spiritual creature.

Although the third-tier resources are unusable and can only be handed over to the sect for storage in the secret vault, it is still good to broaden one's horizons.

The others chuckled softly; when the volcano erupts violently, the most valuable spiritual item will be thrown out.

If the other party waits for news at Red Copper Mountain, and only arrives after receiving the message and the Golden Sword, they probably won't see any good stuff.

Spiritual objects buried deep underground are not easy to find, but high-level spiritual objects exposed on the surface are hard to ignore unless one is blind.

Liu Yu stopped laughing and said:

"When I was traveling in the Southern Continent, I passed by an erupting volcano and obtained some Fire Phoenix Soul-Burning Essence. If Crimson Flame Peak could also produce Soul-Burning Essence, that would be great."

He vividly remembered his experience at Fire Feather Mountain, and even now, recalling his battle with the Golden Core cultivator, his heart still raced.

“The conditions for the birth of a spirit evil are more demanding than those for a spirit object. Crimson Flame Peak has all five elements of spiritual veins, which seem to be in intense conflict, but they are mutually generating and transforming, and there are no extreme conditions required for the formation of a spirit evil.”

For a spirit to be formed, one of the five elements must have an absolute advantage, and there must be a violent conflict between opposing spirits, followed by a series of transformations.

Zhu Xiangrong stroked his gray goatee and gently shook his head:
"If Crimson Flame Peak can erupt periodically, and the power of the fire veins can show its dominance, I think it is feasible to form a variety of spiritual energies."

However, the earth's core fire vein beneath Crimson Flame Peak is not active. The reason it has erupted frequently in recent years is due to the improvement in the vein's grade.

The cultivators, including Liu Yu, who were focused on combat, were unaware of this theory and listened with great interest.

Suddenly, a long howl came from the mountainside, giving people the feeling of a waterfall plunging into a deep pool and splashing water.

Jia Yu turned her head and said in astonishment:

"Only Junior Brother Ji was there. He returned to his cave to refine pills. His roar was passionate and intense. Could it be that his cultivation has advanced further?"

The fact that Ji An's cultivation had reached the fifth stage of the Chaoyuan realm was known to everyone present. This further advancement meant the perfection of the Five Elements Divine Palace.

Li Haoran's eyes flashed suddenly, then calmed down instantly. He was opening up the Earth Element Divine Palace and was still working hard to enter the fifth stage of the Chaoyuan realm.

Having cultivated for many years, no cultivator of the same level has ever improved at a faster pace than him, giving him a sense of loneliness as if he were standing atop a mountain.

Having someone to catch up with in the same category is a completely new experience.

He possesses a Metal-elemental Daoist body, with profound attainments in the Metal and Water elements, but in the Wood and Fire elements, he is only at the level of an ordinary genius.

He couldn't fully utilize his advantages during the Chaoyuan stage of cultivation. However, once he broke through to the Golden Core stage, he believed that by focusing on the sword path, he could gradually bridge the gap between them.

Ge Luoying opened her mouth slightly and let out a barely audible sigh. Images from the past flashed through her mind: her great-aunt had asked her to befriend this junior brother, and at the time, she had been somewhat reluctant.

Looking back now, it seems so ridiculous.

Her cultivation level had only just entered the third stage of the Chaoyuan realm, and the gap between them made her feel extremely ashamed.

Zhu Xiangrong's eyes shone brightly as he smiled:

"If what Junior Brother Jia said is true, Junior Brother Ji's cultivation speed is among the top in the sect's history."

Jia Yu nodded slightly and said seriously:

"Starting from the Qi Refining stage, it is indeed the case that it takes five revolutions to reach the completion of the Chaoyuan stage."

The ancestor once checked the records of Ji An's entry into the sect in the treasure pavilion, and he was present at the time.

The opponent's performance during the Qi Refining stage was not outstanding, far inferior to many of his more talented fellow disciples. However, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, especially after breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he gradually gained momentum and caught up.

Now, he has even surpassed his fellow disciples with top-tier aptitude, which he considers a miracle, and there must be some unknown luck involved.

Jia Yu blinked and said to the others:
“Aside from the two of us old men, the rest of you are all on the verge of reaching the Golden Core stage. This is a great blessing for the sect.”

The oldest of these people is Ge Luoying, who is over 190 years old and has reached the third stage of the Chaoyuan realm. He still has 300 years to live.

As long as one's cultivation doesn't stagnate, while I wouldn't dare say one can break through to the Golden Core stage, the realm of the Five Palaces Perfection should be attainable.

The real danger is that if one is delayed in opening a certain divine palace, it will mean that comprehending the mutual generation of the five elements will be extremely difficult.

Liu Yu waved his hand, "Compared to Senior Brother Li and Junior Brother Ji, I am far inferior. However, I will continue to move forward steadily, step by step, at my own pace."

Everyone has different talents and temperaments, and he understood early on that the most important thing was to keep improving every day.

Accompanied by the sound of rushing water, black auspicious clouds descended. Ji An cupped his hands and smiled, saying:
"Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality, senior brothers and sisters."

When he stepped out of the cave, he found a communication talisman sword outside, which informed him of the arrival of the others, so he rode the cloud down the mountain.

Jia Yu raised his wine glass, "We came here on a whim. When we arrived at Crimson Flame Peak in the evening, we learned that our junior brother had already returned to his cave, so we didn't want to disturb him. We just hope you don't mind that we came uninvited."

The main reason was that Senior Brother Zhu was anxious and worried that the volcano would erupt prematurely, so he dragged him along. On the way, they also met Liu Yu and two others.

"Your presence is the perfect opportunity to savor the divine wine and delicacies."

Ji An instructed the disciples serving beside him, "Retrieve a few jars of top-grade spirit wine from the bottom of the pool, and take some top-grade spirit tea from the warehouse."

Without his permission, these disciples could only use second-tier low-grade spiritual items when entertaining guests.

"Yes, sir," Wei Songtao and the others replied and went about their business.

Jia Yu asked in a low voice:
"I just heard my junior brother let out a long roar, full of pride and joy. Has his cultivation improved?"

"Thank you, Water God Palace is complete."

Ji An smiled broadly. At this moment, the Five Elements Divine Palace in his chest and abdomen circulated spontaneously, and the magic power in his dantian was extracted and refined.

The technique was operating without his control, and although it was extremely slow, it was constantly in progress.

Everyone clasped their hands in greeting and offered their congratulations.

"Congratulations, junior brother!"

Ji An returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Congratulations!"

Zhu Xiangrong beamed with joy. The greater the achievement, the better. He had crafted two top-grade spiritual artifacts for the other party, whose power would witness his past as the other party witnessed his life.

He sent a message:

"Junior brother, I wonder if you have decided what to use as your natal magic weapon? Will you choose the spiritual weapon that I helped you refine?"

If it were someone else, the range of choices would be very narrow, but the other party is wealthy and powerful, and can exchange for top-quality spiritual artifacts that meet the requirements at any time to make the embryo of their natal magic weapon.

Ji An responded telepathically:
"I've already decided that if I have the opportunity to break through to the Golden Core stage, I will use the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner as my natal magic weapon."

He only discussed the choice of his natal magic weapon with the ancestor.

He thought for a moment, then said:

"Senior Brother Zhu, please come with me. I have something good to give you."

The two left one after the other. Jia Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, "What good stuff is it? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Arriving at the stone house where he used to draw talismans, Ji An took out a snow-white, jade-like skull and solemnly said:

"I have acquired a magical artifact and would like to give it to my senior brother for research, but he must make a solemn vow not to reveal it to other cultivators."

This magical artifact was obtained from a Golden Core cultivator of the Earthly Fiend Sect. Originally, the artifact was dazzling with spiritual light, but now it has lost much of its luster.

After a cultivator dies, their natal magic weapon will slowly lose its spirituality and eventually decay like a dead tree.

This magical artifact had been in Ji An's possession for several years. He was afraid that if he gave it away too early, the other party might associate it with something else, even though the possibility of that was infinitely close to zero.

Zhu Xiangrong's eyes widened suddenly, and he lowered his voice:

"Magic treasures are not easy to obtain by chance."

He readily made the Great Dao oath, then gently shook his head. For a cultivator like him who had no hope of advancing further, the binding force of the Great Dao oath was far too weak.

He held the skull-shaped magic weapon in his hand and quickly determined that it was the natal magic weapon of a Golden Core cultivator. The only valuable thing about this kind of thing was the magical restrictions within it.

Zhu Xiangrong's eyes were deep and unfathomable. The magic weapon was forged from white bones, so its original owner must have been no benevolent person. Since the magic weapon was obtained by an outsider, the owner's fate was probably death and annihilation.

'Could it be that Junior Brother Ji encountered a Golden Core cultivator who had passed away while traveling? That's the only explanation.'

He coughed lightly and said in a deep voice:

"If we discover any usable restrictions or techniques, could we submit them to the sect?"

The restrictions within magical artifacts are called treasure restrictions. Sects with weak Golden Core foundations can only collect a very small number of treasure restrictions.

Therefore, each of these magical artifacts is rare and has great research value.

Ji An nodded, "I am giving this treasure to my senior brother so that he may use it to benefit our sect."

The treasures and restrictions of Nascent Soul sects must have unique features. Although most of these restrictions do not conform to the sect's methods, they are worth learning from by weapon refiners and can also enrich the sect's foundation.

Neither of the two patriarchs were weapon refiners, otherwise he would have handed them over long ago.

By personally gifting the magic treasure to Senior Brother Zhu, he could also gain a favor, which might come in handy someday.

Zhu Xiangrong carefully put the magic weapon away. "Junior brother, from now on, when we hand over the magic weapon and gain merit, we'll split it equally."

(End of this chapter)