Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 461 Enhancement of the Gathering Yuan Tree

Upon hearing this, Zhang Le smiled broadly and said:

"Hehe, not bad luck. It's a pity you didn't come with us, otherwise you could have made a fortune."

Ji An smiled faintly and replied:
"Alas, I, Ji, am having bad luck."

If you were to ask if I felt any regret at this moment, I would say there was a slight one, but only a slight one.

The judgment he made at the time would have meant he would have gained less wealth, but he wouldn't have had to take any risks. He wouldn't be envious of others' gains, since he had taken a risk.

He extended his divine sense, shook the bottle a few times, and estimated the amount of spiritual energy inside, which was about ten thousand strands.

"Fellow Daoists, at what price do you intend to sell this bottle of spiritual energy?"

Nurturing a spiritual weapon in the dantian can enhance its power, but this requires a long and arduous process. Spiritual energy can not only enhance the spirituality of a spiritual weapon, but also increase its power.

The sect's spiritual energy needs to be used to support its disciples, and he can no longer obtain more spiritual energy, so he has to purchase it from outside sources.

"One strand costs three spirit stones, with a minimum transaction amount of five thousand strands. Settlement will be made in high-grade spirit stones. How many strands can you afford, fellow cultivator?"

Ji An's eyes lit up slightly. From the tone of their voices, he could tell that they had gained a lot.

In the past two years, he has had no expenses. He has neither needed to purchase spiritual artifacts nor pills, and has accumulated a considerable amount of high-grade spirit stones.

Including those he had saved up before, he had a total of more than 120 high-grade spirit stones on him.

At this moment, he was considering how many spirit stones to spend. It wouldn't be good to flaunt his wealth, but he was also afraid of missing out on this opportunity.

The other party's offer was roughly twice the price charged by the sect, but that's the market rate in the outside world.

Yuan Hong and his partner exchanged a glance and said:
"Fellow Daoist, is there some difficulty you're facing? If you don't need it for the time being, that's fine too. We're not forcing anyone to buy or sell."

Ji An waved his hand, "I'm just calculating the capital of the next buyer. So, I'll buy fifteen high-grade spirit stones of spirit energy."

He understood that the fact that the other party could obtain spiritual energy meant that the ruins could produce it continuously.

Similar to his Crimson Flame Peak, which can create value over a long period of time, there is no need to buy too many at once.

"Fellow Daoist is generous."

Zhang Le took out a jade bottle and said:
"The specially made storage jade bottle has a full capacity of 50,000 strands, which is slightly different from the actual value, but the error does not exceed 200 strands."

In the case of large-scale transactions, these errors are permissible.

Ji An took the jade bottle, opened it, and used his magic to suppress the spiritual energy to prevent it from dissipating. After probing the density with his divine sense, he nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes, I accept this bottle of spirit energy.”

He took out fifteen high-grade spirit stones and handed them over to the other party along with the jade bottle he had initially received.

Zhang Le put away the spirit stone, his smile growing even more amiable:

"From now on, you can come to me for any of your needs regarding the purchase of spiritual energy."

“Definitely,” Ji An thought for a moment and asked:
"Fellow Daoist, you must have obtained other spiritual energy, right?"

The other party once mentioned that there was a Three Talents Mysterious Array in the ruins, based on which it can be inferred that there should be three kinds of spiritual evil.

"Indeed, there are also metal and earth elemental spirits, but the other two spirits were completely consumed when the formation was broken. If you want to buy them, you'll have to wait a few years."

Hearing the other party's reply, Ji An felt a sense of loss, as he could have enjoyed some of the benefits as well.

He cupped his hands and said:

"Congratulations to you two fellow Daoists. With this resource, you will surely be able to break through to the Golden Core stage in the future. At that time, you two True Immortals will be patriarchs of your respective regions."

"Haha, fellow Daoist, you flatter me."

"If we ever break through to the Golden Core stage, we plan to establish our own sect. We'll invite fellow cultivators to attend!"

Zhang Le's face was full of smugness, and Yuan Hong also grinned.

Ji An changed the subject and asked:
"Will you two continue hunting demons in the future?"

Of the demon-hunting cultivators he currently collaborates with, only the other two are involved. If these two wealthy men stop engaging in demon-hunting in the future, he will have to find other partners to collaborate with.

When trading with shops, they earn spirit stones from the materials and the finished products. By directly dealing with demon hunters, one can earn more profit.

Zhang Le replied, "Of course we will continue to hunt demons. The accumulation of spiritual energy is not fast. Besides, Fellow Daoist Yuan and I really enjoy the thrill of killing demonic beasts."

Yuan Hong nodded in agreement, "Yes, hunting demons not only yields various materials, but also has other benefits."

After chatting for a while, the two of them said goodbye and left.

After walking some distance from the cave, Yuan Hong transmitted his voice:

"This Ji An is full of pure and abundant qi and blood. I can smell the fragrance contained within him, which is even more captivating than those body cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage."

"If we can lure him to the ruins, the master will be very happy."

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhang Le's eyes as he licked his lips with his scarlet tongue.

"No rush. The other party is very vigilant, so it's not suitable to throw bait directly. We'll find an opportunity later to invite them to participate in the monster hunt."

"Hehe, that's what I was thinking too. So what's our next step? Should we search for other cultivators to explore the ruins?"

"I'm wondering if there's a more efficient way. Finding the right person isn't easy, and it takes too long."

Yuan Hong's eyes darted around a few times before he transmitted his voice:

"Do you remember something that happened when we were still Qi Refining disciples? There were a few rogue cultivators in the market who set up a scheme to sell treasure maps, luring people to find treasure and then ambushing them."

This tactic may be cliché, but as long as the bait is tempting enough, someone will always take the bait, and those who do are usually confident in their abilities.

Zhang Le raised an eyebrow slightly, a look of sudden realization on his face. "Great! Let's go back and discuss this properly."

As long as the master can absorb a large amount of blood and qi, his strength will recover quickly, and he will be able to break through the seal and escape.

Even if it attracts the attention of high-level cultivators, it won't matter.

After the guests left, Ji An, inside the cave, looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

"Those two guys got incredibly lucky! I wonder who the cultivator they ended up inviting to break the formation was!"

If the monks they invited return safely, it shows that these two people are still worth associating with.

The fact that the cultivators didn't kill and seize the valuable items within the ruins suggests they possess a certain level of integrity, or at least have a moral bottom line.

He shook his head, dispelling the faint feeling of jealousy rising in his heart. When it comes to luck, he had never been impressed by anyone!

Putting aside the stone tortoise, how many people in the entire cultivation world are fortunate enough to obtain resources of the scale of a small world or a spiritual root of heaven and earth?

In addition, the Soul-Nourishing Wood and Phoenix Wood in Crimson Flame Peak are also top-tier resources, capable of supporting cultivators to reach the peak of the Golden Core stage.

The only thing that bothered him was that he was one of the predecessors in the saying "one generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade," and he didn't get to enjoy many of the fruits of the labor himself.

Ji An composed himself, smiled, and walked out of the cave. He had just finished the transaction and hadn't had lunch yet.

Half an hour later, Ji An left Zuixianju.

He is now a regular here, spending several hundred spirit stones on meals every day, and the restaurant no longer charges him an "entrance deposit".

He walked briskly to Xuelan Street and found Zhou's Spirit Rice Shop. The shop assistant greeted him respectfully and said:

"Senior, are you selling or buying?"

"I need to buy some second-grade low-level spirit soil. Is Manager Zhou Changji not here?"

"Yes, senior, please follow me."

The shop assistant led the way; he wasn't qualified to participate in the trading of second-tier supplies, which was always handled by the shopkeeper.

The two entered the VIP room, and the waiter began to speak:

"Please have a seat, senior. I'll go and fetch the manager."

Ji An nodded slightly. The treatment this time was different from the first time he came. Back then, he was brought by a broker and needed to announce his arrival before he could see the shopkeeper. He didn't expect that he could just state his needs and be received by the shopkeeper.

He had just sat down when the round-faced shopkeeper walked in.

"Your presence is an honor to our humble establishment."

Ji An nodded slightly, exchanged a few polite words, and then explained his purpose:

"Three thousand catties of each of the following spiritual soils are required: Black Soil, White Concrete Soil, Azure Soil, Crimson Flame Sand, and Earth Yellow Crystal."

The spirit soil we purchased last time has been completely used up and urgently needs to be replenished. Cultivating the spirit fields of the gourd world is a major undertaking.

The improvement in the grade of the spirit field will nourish the earth veins, which is what he values ​​most.

Only when the spiritual veins of the gourd world reach the second-tier low-grade level can one be considered to have made it through, at which point the products of the small world will have a higher value.

Zhou Changji's smile immediately blossomed, his small eyes reduced to mere slits:
"Your timing is perfect, senior. A batch of spirit soil was just delivered to the warehouse a few days ago, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to gather enough."

"Qinghua Soil, Crimson Flame Sand, and Earth Yellow Crystal are each worth eight spirit stones per pound; Black Swamp Soil and White Concrete are each worth six spirit stones per pound."

He quickly did the mental calculations and said gently:
"A total of 108,000 spirit stones."

He only gets such a large single transaction once every few years, and he was overjoyed.

After the deal is completed, he will receive a substantial reward from his family, which he can use to buy some potent medicines that can help him punish his concubines.

Ji An frowned slightly. "Aren't there any discounts?"

With such a large transaction volume, it wouldn't be right not to offer a discount.

"Of course, I didn't finish what I was saying earlier, but there's a discount of three thousand spirit stones."

Ji An was unhappy. He had previously traded 10,000 catties of spirit soil and received a discount of 4,000 spirit stones. Today, he traded 15,000 catties, but the discount was even less.

"The shopkeeper is too stingy. Ten thousand spirit stones. We should cooperate more in the future."

The shopkeeper remained silent for a moment, then finally gave a pained look. "I'm afraid I'll be scolded by my boss for offering such a discount, but it's worth it to make friends with a senior like you!"

Ji An chuckled, "The phrase 'make friends' sounds very familiar."

He took out a batch of wooden boxes labeled with spirit-sealing techniques and said:

"Here are second-tier high-grade spirit peaches, green ivy fruits, heavenly pears, and dragon blood fruits. I will sell them to you as long as the price is right."

These spiritual fruits were brought out when he left the sect, and now they've come in handy. He doesn't have enough mid-grade spirit stones, so he's reluctant to use high-grade spirit stones to pay the bill.

Zhou Changji's smile became even more amiable. Acquiring resources would surely bring another profit. He carefully opened the box and examined it closely.

After a moment, he inspected all the spiritual fruits and complimented them:

"The fruit is brimming with spiritual energy and of excellent quality. Senior, would you be interested in a long-term collaboration with us?"

He has been in the position of manager for seventy years, and his eyesight is very sharp; he can easily distinguish the quality of spiritual fruits.

Ji An shook his head, "I brought this batch of spiritual fruits from another continent. There's no possibility of long-term cooperation."

"I always think about collaborating when I see something good. Please forgive me, senior."

After a moment's consideration, Zhou Changji quoted a reasonable price:

"Fifty top-grade spirit peaches, three hundred spirit stones each;"
One hundred and fifty Biluo fruits, each worth two hundred spirit stones;
Ten Heavenly Yuan Pears, each worth two hundred and fifty spirit stones;

Five Dragon Blood Fruits, each five hundred years old, cost three thousand five hundred spirit stones. Is this price satisfactory, senior?

He tried his best to show enough sincerity. Although the other party rejected his proposal to cooperate, judging from the current situation, the other party has powerful backing and outstanding planting capabilities.

As for the other party's refusal, it was just an excuse.

"Not bad, let's settle the accounts."

“Alright, the spirit fruit is worth 65,000 spirit stones. Senior only needs to pay another 35,000 spirit stones.”

Ji An took out the spirit stones, and the shopkeeper checked them before leaving the room and instructing the waiter outside:
"Go and fetch three thousand catties of each of black soil and earth yellow crystal."

After a while, the shopkeeper brought over the sacred soil, which Ji An examined before leaving.

The shopkeeper escorted him to the shop entrance and said warmly:

"If you have any other needs, you can come to our shop."

Ji An returned to his cave and ordered Da Huang and Jin Mao to guard the entrance. He then went back to his quiet room to communicate with the stone turtle and enter the gourd world.

The Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag flew out of the dantian immediately and hovered above the Gathering Yuan Tree.

Ji An approached the spirit tree, stroked its five-colored leaves, and fell into thought.

The inheritance he received from the cultivators of the Central Continent only contained a brief introduction to the spiritual roots of heaven and earth. As for the effects of the products of these spiritual plants, it was not mentioned at all. He had to verify these things himself.

However, spiritual plants are nothing more than roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, trunks, and bark that can be used. In his opinion, roots, trunks, and bark can be ruled out first. There are no flowers or fruits now, so he can only start with the leaves.

The leaves can be used in medicine or processed into tea. Studying their medicinal properties is quite difficult, as his current knowledge is insufficient, but processing tea is relatively simple.

The Gathering Yuan Tree is currently only at the first-tier superior level, and its branches and leaves are not lush. He plans to wait until it becomes a second-tier spiritual plant before making a trial. However, he cannot entrust the tea-making process to others; he must do it himself.

Having made up his mind, Ji An took out the Earth Yellow Crystal, weighed out 100 jin, and scattered it into the yellow earth. Then he activated the Yellow Dragon Enhancing Yuan Technique.

A yellow aura shone brightly, and the spiritual soil quickly merged into the earth, causing the depths of the land to tremble. The nourishing aura of the Dao of Earth rose from the ground.

Ji An put the storage bag containing the Earth Yellow Crystal into the small house. Just as he was about to ride the cloud away, he suddenly felt a violent fluctuation of spiritual energy behind him.

He turned around abruptly and saw that the Juyuan Tree had grown a foot taller at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its leaves had become much larger.

The Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner suddenly grew larger and was planted into the ground next to the spirit tree. The banner fluttered loudly, and the earthen unicorn let out a deep and heavy roar.

Like thunder from the heavens, it possesses a majestic and awe-inspiring power.

Ji An rushed to the Gathering Yuan Tree and eagerly placed his hand on its trunk to feel its vitality.

Inside the spirit tree, there seemed to be endless yellow earth surging, and he felt as if he could feel the weight of the vast earth that nourishes all things and sustains life.

Life begins here and ends here; the earth silently watches over everything.

"First-tier top-grade level, the speed of improvement is really fast!"

Ji An sighed, saying that he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't witnessed the growth of the spirit tree.

(End of this chapter)