Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 437 Plan Selection
Azure Cloud Immortal City, merchant ships sailing.

Master Zhengyang entered the Merchant Alliance building and was led into the VIP room by a steward. He smiled and said:

"More than thirty years have passed since we parted, yet Brother Cangwu remains as dashing as ever. It is truly enviable."

Master Cangwu stood up and responded enthusiastically:
“Fellow Daoist Zhengyang is the leader of a sect, and I admire him greatly. Please take a seat.”

He then turned to the maid and ordered, "Bring the best tea!"

The maid softly agreed and gracefully left.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Master Zhengyang explained his purpose:
"Fellow Daoist, I wonder if there's any progress on the matter I asked you to do last time?"

He asked the other party to sell two Golden Core Pills privately in preparation for his disciples to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Although it's still a long time before we need to use them, we should plan ahead. It takes thirty years for the merchant ships to travel to and from the Central Continent, so we should buy two more on our next trip at the latest.

Master Cangwu looked troubled, shook his head and sighed:
"Alas, I have failed your trust, fellow Daoist, and I am ashamed."

"The merchant ship hasn't even left Central Continent yet, and all the Golden Core cultivators have already been auctioned off. Fellow Daoist, you'll have to wait a little longer."

His meaning was clear: not only had he failed to keep any pills separately, but there would also be no Golden Core pills appearing in this auction.

Master Zhengyang was disappointed, but still smiled and said:
"Waiting a little longer is fine, but I would still like to ask your alliance to help me keep two Golden Core pills separately."

In business alliances, customer capabilities are always assessed, which, as far as I know, is divided into two dimensions: purchasing power and the ability to sell spiritual items.

Our sect's capabilities in both areas are gradually improving, and we will strive to achieve broader cooperation with your alliance in the future.

Whenever the business alliance leaves a new location, several major business associations will gather together to assess the local power dynamics.

These chambers of commerce have very little overlap in their business, so they are willing to share customer information.

"Fellow Daoist, the final say in the Merchant Alliance is held by a few True Monarchs. I can only report your request to them."

As for how the higher-ups consider it, that's beyond my control.

Master Zhengyang let out a long breath, knowing that the other party could not make complete decisions.

"In your opinion, how long would it take for me to obtain two more Golden Core Pills?"

Master Cangwu remained silent for a moment, then gave a troubled smile. "Next time the flying ship enters the Western Continent, there should be a supply of Golden Core pills, but I cannot guarantee the quantity."

Thirty years ago, five Golden Core Pills were auctioned off in the Western Continent. The Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Merchant Alliance felt that the Western Continent was becoming increasingly powerful and difficult to control, so he decided to slow down the supply of Golden Core Pills.

When the flying ship returns to Xizhou next time, it will release only a few Golden Core pills; he estimates at most two.

By then, he was no longer in charge of the flying boat, so he didn't need to worry about it.

After a few moments of pointless chatter, Master Zhengyang took his leave without touching a drop of water, his hands clenching and unclenching in his sleeves.

The feeling of being controlled by others was extremely unpleasant for him.

If the disciples cannot obtain the Golden Core in time, they will waste their time.

Cultivators defy fate, and the benefits of reaching a higher realm decades earlier are immense.

With this in mind, he had the idea of ​​going to Zhongzhou. Buying the Golden Core Pill was secondary; he wanted to buy the pill formula more.

Master Zhengyang walked along the bustling street, looked up at the sky, and although the sun was shining brightly, he felt a chill.

He determined his direction and quickly set off for his next destination.

The next day at chen time.

Ji An was drawing talismans in the stone house. Before leaving the sect, he wanted to use up all the materials he had.

The second-tier talismans will be kept in reserve, and 30% of the first-tier talismans will be given to the Wei family for sale, with the remainder sold in the Immortal City.

At this moment, two auspicious clouds, one yellow and one red, flew rapidly from outside Crimson Flame Peak.

Meng Yonghua looked down at the earth, gazing at the shimmering spiritual light covering the mountains and fields. A look of shock flashed in his eyes.

"I never expected that your sect would have so many second-tier spiritual plants. Congratulations!"

He is a master of formations in Central Continent and has been tasked with cultivating spiritual veins on numerous occasions.

After a quick glance, he was able to estimate the approximate value of the spiritual plants here.

In his view, the density of high-level spiritual plants in this training ground was not much different from that of the best spiritual fields in Falling Maple Valley.

'The intelligence reports say that the Golden Spirit Sect isn't known for cultivating spiritual herbs and trees; it seems their intelligence isn't up-to-date.'

The growth of spiritual plants is mainly affected by two factors: the grade of the spiritual field and the level of the spiritual farmer. Neither of these factors can be deficient, otherwise, it will be impossible to cultivate a large number of high-level spiritual plants.

He learned from Zheng Yang Zhenren that the spiritual veins here need to be cultivated to the third level, which means that the current spiritual veins are only of the second-level top grade.

From this, we can deduce that the spiritual farmer in charge of managing this place possesses extraordinary skills, and his abilities are not far inferior to those of the cultivators in the Central Continent Divine Tree.

Master Zhengyang smiled with satisfaction, his tone filled with pride:

"Haha, you don't deserve such praise, fellow Daoist. This is the result of the concerted efforts of everyone in the sect's Ministry of Agriculture."

As they spoke, the two landed by the cold pool. Master Zhengyang addressed Wei Songtao, who was approaching them:
"Quickly go and invite Ji An out. I have invited Master Meng to come and survey the spiritual veins of Crimson Flame Peak."

"Please come to the living room for tea, Ancestor. I will go and invite Master Ji right away."

Meng Yonghua waved his hand, "Let's get things done first, then we can enjoy tea later."

The investigation of the spiritual vein nodes took quite a long time, and he wanted to finish before evening, otherwise he would have to stay overnight, as he didn't like staying overnight in unfamiliar places.

Master Zhengyang waved his hand, "Don't just stand there, do as Master Meng says."

Ji An had already heard the sounds outside. He put down his talisman brush and instructed the maid:

"Clean up this place."

He strode out of the cave and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Disciple pays respects to the Ancestor and to Master Meng."

Master Zhengyang laughed and said:

"Ji An, Master Meng is a third-tier array master, who was promoted from the spiritual vein of Crimson Flame Peak."

He showed us around, pointing out the various spiritual vein nodes.

"Let's begin with this cold pool. Please follow me."

Ji An took out the water-repelling pearl and led the two into the icy pool.

Over the next period of time, the three of them surveyed all the spiritual vein nodes, large and small, on Crimson Flame Peak, except for the lava pool where the Phoenix Tree was located.

Meng Yonghua was quite surprised by the appearance of the Soul-Nourishing Wood and the Pure Water Lotus. The cultivators of the Central Continent have always looked down on the people of the Western Continent, and in their eyes, the sects here are far behind those of the Central Continent.

However, even in the Central Continent, a Golden Core cultivator possessing a treasure plant would not be a weak force, he thought to himself:

'No wonder they want to cultivate this spiritual vein to the third tier. Given time, by cultivating the quality of the precious plants, they can continuously generate third-tier resources, thus completely stabilizing the Golden Core inheritance.'

As the three emerged from the underground cave, a sliver of the setting sun shone obliquely on the horizon, staining the earth crimson.

Meng Yonghua nodded slightly and said calmly:
"I have two options, I'll explain them to you and see which one you choose."

He has handled many magic arrays for cultivating spiritual veins and is very skilled at them.

Master Zhengyang laughed and said, "Master, you've had a long day. Let's go to the living room, have some tea, and chat. Otherwise, it's not proper hospitality." Ji An spread his arms and said, "Master, please come this way."

The three entered the living room, where a maid served pastries and dried fruits, and brewed Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea, its delicate fragrance wafting through the air.

Meng Yonghua tasted a small piece of honey osmanthus cake, nodded slightly in satisfaction, and said:

"The first option is to cultivate this area as a whole into a third-tier region. The advantage is that it can save on array materials, but the disadvantage is that it consumes a lot of various resources and takes a long time."

"The second option is to divide this spiritual vein, using the mountain peak as the center, to isolate the inner and outer areas, prioritizing the cultivation of the inner area, which includes both precious plants."

In this way, the resources consumed in cultivating the spiritual veins will be greatly reduced. Since the area is much smaller, the time required will be shorter. I estimate that it will be completed in about sixty years.

Then the isolated areas will be released piece by piece, but doing so will consume nearly twice as many array materials as the first option.

Upgrading the entire area to Tier 3 will take longer than the first option, but the advantage is that it allows for the creation of a better growth environment for Baozhi earlier.

Master Zhengyang pondered that things had both advantages and disadvantages, and once a choice was made, it could not be changed.

"Fellow Daoist, could you estimate the resources consumed by the two plans? It doesn't need to be too precise, just for my reference."

If both options require a long time to prepare materials, he would choose the first one.

If he can gather the materials for the second option in a short time, he will choose the second option.

"Of course. The main spiritual vein here has an umbrella-shaped structure, which is very typical. The required resources are easy to estimate, and the error is not significant."

Meng Yonghua readily agreed, took out clean paper and charcoal pencil from the Void Stone, and began to calculate while lying on the coffee table.

He always carried these things with him, because he might need them at any time.

A moment later, he handed over two sheets of paper covered with small writing.

Master Zhengyang took it, glanced at it a few times, and said:

"Fellow Daoist, please allow me to ponder this for one night, and I will give you an answer tomorrow."

"No rush, fellow Daoist, you can take your time to consider it."

Meng Yonghua finished his tea, ate a piece of pastry, and stood up, saying:
"It's getting late, I have to hurry back to the Immortal City, farewell."

When Master Zhengyang's attempts to persuade him to stay failed, he said, "I will escort you to the teleportation array."

He then transmitted his voice to Ji An:

"Send a message to Zhang Zizhao, informing him to wait for me at the Treasure Pavilion on Chaoyang Peak, and to bring with him the inventory list of materials from the Qin Gong Hall."

Ji An nodded slightly and sent out a message via golden sword after the two left.

Master Zhengyang sent Meng Yonghua to the teleportation array and rode a cloud back to Chaoyang Peak.

A yellow auspicious cloud descended on the mountainside. He stepped into the treasure pavilion and found that Zhang Zizhao had already arrived. He nodded in satisfaction.

He took out the paper and placed it on the table, saying:
"These are the resources needed to upgrade Crimson Flame Peak. There are two plans. You two can compare them and see if it's possible to gather enough resources for one of the plans in a short time."

"Please wait a moment, Ancestor," Jia Yu and the other person each took a piece of paper, took out the jade slip containing the inventory information, and began to compare it.

After a while, Jia and Yu exchanged papers and continued comparing them.

About fifteen minutes later, Jia Yu spoke first:

"When the sect was cultivating the main spiritual vein, about 10% of the various high-level resources prepared were still available. The spiritual materials needed for the core area cultivation plan can be gathered now."

However, if a holistic cultivation strategy is adopted, approximately half of the resources will be lacking.

The spiritual vein of Crimson Flame Peak is not large, occupying only one percent of the main spiritual vein. It only cultivates the core area, making its size even smaller, which can be easily satisfied.

Zhang Zizhao also spoke up:

"Ancestor, you gave the order long ago that the Diligent Work Hall has been storing large quantities of low-level resources for cultivating spiritual veins."

If we adopt a strategy of only developing core regions, our current inventory is sufficient for five years.

If a holistic cultivation approach is adopted, most resources will be insufficient.

Master Zhengyang pondered for a moment and asked:

"If a comprehensive cultivation plan is adopted, can the relevant resources be gathered within six months?"

Jia Yu pondered and said:
"There are several tier 3 resources that need to be purchased, and it's not guaranteed that we'll be able to buy them."

Zhang Zizhao shook his head. "Cultivating spiritual veins is a long-term process that consumes a lot of resources. Even if we can gather enough resources for the first stage in a short time, I can't guarantee whether the resources will keep up in the later stages."

Unless the sect decides to implement the same policy as when cultivating the main spiritual vein, the prices of various spiritual items in the Western Continent will skyrocket again.

"Ancestor, I don't recommend doing this; it will disrupt the order of the Western Continent."

Master Zhengyang said in a deep voice:
"Then let's adopt the plan of only cultivating the core area of ​​Crimson Flame Peak. I will go to Azure Cloud Immortal City again tomorrow to inform True Person Meng of our decision."

"Ancestor is wise."

The following afternoon, Ji An received a message from the Golden Sword, delivered by the True Man Zhengyang.

"The sect has decided to focus solely on cultivating the core area. In three months, all kinds of array flags and array plates will be successfully crafted, at which time they will be deployed on Crimson Flame Peak."

Ji An breathed a sigh of relief. This was also the plan he had hoped for, with the core area only accounting for a quarter of the total area.

If the overall cultivation method is adopted, it will probably take more than two hundred years. By the time the third-order spiritual vein is cultivated, he will be almost four hundred years old. He can't afford to wait that long.

Chaoyang Peak, Wuji Palace.

Han Yan entered the main hall and bowed, saying:

"Greetings, Ancestor. What brings you here?"

"Sit down and talk."

Master Zhengyang frowned and asked in a deep voice:
"If you obtain the formula for the Golden Core Elixir, are you confident in your ability to authenticate it?"

He had discussed it with Master Yuxiao, and the latter had agreed to the decision to go to Zhongzhou.

Sects lack not only the ability to form Golden Cores, but also various kinds of knowledge inheritance. These things are not so tightly sealed in the Central Continent, and their prices are much lower.

Bring along the Tier 3 resources and high-grade spirit stones from the Treasure Pavilion and go on a big shopping spree in Central Continent; this will save you a lot of resources.

Han Yan was startled and whispered:
"This disciple cannot guarantee it, but can draw a reference conclusion by analyzing the medicinal properties."

If a sect has a formula for forming a Golden Core, it means that it can begin cultivating the relevant spiritual herbs.

In this way, as long as alchemists capable of refining Golden Core pills are trained, the cost of Golden Core pills will be greatly reduced.

Who is this person? Who else in the sect could be her?

"I plan to travel to the Central Continent on a merchant airship. You will come along with me, and you can choose some alchemy-related inheritances."

Master Zhengyang chuckled softly, “As the Ministry of Agriculture grows stronger, the Dan Ding Academy must also keep up.”

The number of high-level spiritual farmers in the sect is increasing day by day. The spiritual herbs they grow are not for selling as raw materials because the profit is not high enough. The profit can be multiplied several times by refining them into pills. Why not do it?
Han Yan was overjoyed, "Yes, ma'am!"

(End of this chapter)