Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 496 An Old Friend Has Passed Away

Jia Yu understood and asked:
"What was your original plan to comprehend the divine meaning of the five elements' mutual generation in the North?"

Ji An held up three fingers and kept smiling:
"There are three types: fire generates earth, earth generates metal, and metal generates water."

"All done?!"

"if not?"

Ji An revealed a smug and arrogant expression. The two were close, so a joke between them was harmless.

Jia Yu: "."

The other party's progress is too fast, whether it is improving cultivation or comprehending divine will. Such a cultivator is from the same sect. In addition to the surprise, there is also a bit of an indescribable feeling in my heart.

He had been praying that his fellow disciples who had gone out to seek enlightenment would all achieve their goals as soon as possible, but when he actually encountered one who did so quickly...
Ji An took out his identity jade token and said:
"I will stay in the sect for a while. Now, please give me my minor merit points."

Jia Yu took the jade tablet and placed it on the spirit plate to operate. "Over the years, the Treasure Pavilion has owed you 542,000 minor merits, and the Beast Taming Hall also owes you a sum of minor merits. Have you gone to collect them?"

"Not yet. The Beast Taming Hall is near Crimson Flame Peak, so you can collect it anytime."

Ji An tapped his fingers lightly on the table a few times, then said:
"I have so many small skills, but not many places where they can be used."

At his current stage, he doesn't need elixirs, nor does he need to purchase spells or other forms of inheritance; his minor skills can only remain as decorations.

Jia Yu glanced at him, handed over the jade token, and said with a sneer:
"This is only temporary. If you want to break through to the Golden Core stage, forming the Golden Core is essential. You will lose 600,000 minor merits."

This price is extremely high, but you simply cannot obtain it without going through the sect's channels.

The only way for cultivators in the Western Continent to obtain the Golden Core is to buy it from cultivators in the Central Continent. If they buy it in their private capacity, they will have to pay at least double the price.

This is an agreement between the high-ranking members of the three sects in the Western Continent and the forces in the Central Continent. As long as no fourth Golden Core force is born in the Western Continent, the three sects will gain even greater benefits.

Ji An held up the jade tablet and waved it triumphantly:
"The merit points inside are enough to offset the cost. By the way, do I need to pay the merit points for exchanging the pills now?"

"No need for that. You can exchange it when you get the pills."

After breaking through to the Golden Core stage, acquiring cultivation techniques also requires minor effort, but I don't know the exact amount.

Not only cultivation techniques, but also the inheritance of various Golden Core levels requires minor cultivation. You don't actually think the sect's patriarchs can obtain these resources for free, do you?

Jia Yu laughed and said that if a powerful group can do this without restraint, then they are not far from falling apart.

Ji An shook his head, "Of course I wouldn't have such a misconception, but it will be many years before I break through to the Golden Core stage."

By then, the number of minor skills I've accumulated will be at least two or three times what it is now.

He carefully placed the jade pendant close to his body. "When I passed through the Yuanhe Mountain area, I discovered that there were demonic cultivators there. Does the sect know about this?"

Jia Yu's expression turned serious, and she nodded slightly:

“Yuanhe Mountain informed us of this matter. The demonic cultivators have committed several bloody crimes, and they have lost several cultivators at the Chaoyuan stage.”

The situation is somewhat complicated. Currently, the only person in Yuanhe Mountain capable of killing demonic cultivators is True Person Beichen. However, the fact that a Golden Core True Person who is also the sect leader has been mobilized proves that they have weakened to a certain extent, which is not a good sign for the outside world.

People are restless and yearning for change; who knows what unsavory developments might arise in the North?

Having experienced both demonic and monster calamities, Yuanhe Mountain suffered the greatest losses among the three sects, and their Golden Core inheritance is now in serious danger.

According to Ancestor Zhengyang, True Man Beichen only has about fifty years or less of lifespan left. If there is a problem with the Golden Elixir inheritance of Yuanhe Mountain, the situation in Xizhou will become very delicate.

Without Golden Core cultivators, Yuanhe Mountain would not be qualified to occupy such a large territory, inevitably leading to a power vacuum.

This is not good news for the Golden Spirit Sect, because they are too far from Yuanhe Mountain to benefit much, but it is different for Falling Maple Valley.

Having too many powerful allies is not a good thing. If Yuanhe Mountain continues to weaken, the biggest beneficiary will be Luofeng Valley.

Ji An's gaze was deep. He had not studied the situation in Xizhou, but he understood a very simple truth: if the situation were to become unbalanced, chaos would inevitably ensue.

He coughed and asked cautiously:
"Senior brother, do you think the Golden Core inheritance of Yuanhe Mountain will be interrupted?"

If a disruption occurs, the original order of the Western Continent will certainly be broken.

Jia Yu scratched his head, took a swig of wine, and said:
"Yuanhe Mountain was besieged by the demon beast army for a period of time, and lost a lot of Chaoyuan stage cultivators. This was not fatal in itself."

However, with the unexpected death of Master Nanshan, the situation immediately became chaotic.

Now we'll see if True Immortal Beichen can cultivate a Golden Core cultivator before his passing. I'm not particularly optimistic about that.

The lifespan of the True Man of Nanshan is over three hundred years. Yuanhe Mountain could have easily cultivated a successor, but now everything has been ruined.

A cultivator needs to go through many hurdles to break through from the Chaoyuan stage to the Golden Core stage; it cannot be achieved overnight.

As a Golden Core sect in the Western Continent, Yuanhe Mountain has a solid foundation. If True Person Beichen's lifespan were longer, there wouldn't be much of a problem with its inheritance.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, and instability is likely to occur in the northern part of the Western Continent.

The Golden Spirit Sect was the least willing to see this situation, because their growth rate in recent years far exceeded that of the other two sects.

Jia Yu's gaze turned gloomy, and he said in a deep voice:
"According to the information reported by Yuanhe Mountain, the demonic cultivator is currently at the Chaoyuan stage. If he is lucky enough to break through to the Golden Core stage, and if True Person Beichen fails to cultivate a qualified successor, the northern region will be in complete chaos."

Do you remember? A group of demon cultivators were lurking in the mountains of the Northwest Region.

Ji An sighed softly. A great power would not fall so easily, but when the wall is about to crumble, everyone will push it down. If the Golden Core inheritance of Yuanhe Mountain is interrupted, the situation will quickly collapse.

He could foresee the consequences: Yuanhe Mountain would raise its protective array to seal off the mountain, and the demon cultivators would likely get involved, with Luofeng Valley also getting involved.

Other forces, whether passively or actively, will all be drawn into a new round of interest distribution.

Ji An shook his head and said:
"Let's not think about it too much. We don't know what will happen in the future. Let the ancestors worry about it."

Only Golden Core cultivators can play a decisive role in the situation in the Western Continent. With his current abilities, thinking too much is useless.

He changed the subject and asked:
"How has the sect fared in recent years?"

"That's great. The Dan Ding Academy, the Refining Hall, the Puppet Hall, and the Agriculture Hall have all made significant progress."

The method you proposed may seem simple, but it has greatly improved the efficiency of various departments.

Now we no longer need to maintain a particularly large number of cultivators, but our overall strength has increased rather than decreased.

Time is on our side; our sect will inevitably become the number one sect in the Western Continent.

Jia Yu silently added a sentence in his mind: 'If the situation at Yuanhe Mountain doesn't change.'

Ji An smiled broadly, "That's great, it's very likely to come true a hundred years from now."

With the number of sect cultivators decreasing and the output of various resources increasing, the speed of resource accumulation will greatly increase.

With abundant resources, the number of Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul cultivators will increase significantly. With a larger base of high-level cultivators, the number of Golden Core cultivators will inevitably increase gradually.

Jia Yu nodded with a sense of pride, but then, as if remembering something, his smile faded, and he said softly:
"About ten years ago, my junior disciple Liu Suyun failed to break through to the Chaoyuan stage and passed away not long after."

Before she died, she came here to see me one last time, wanting to give you the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree planted on Crimson Flame Peak, to repay the debt she still owed you.

Outside the main hall, a strong wind blew, and the leaves in the nearby forest swayed and collided, their sounds gathering like waves. Fallen leaves were swept up by the wind and carried away to an unknown distance.

Ji An sighed. He had already witnessed his fellow disciples passing away, and he might experience even more in the future.

"Perhaps it is because of the fear of death that we cultivators pursue immortality."

However, this long journey is not smooth; it's uncertain how many will reach the end, or perhaps the road itself has no end.

With the accumulation of countless bones from generations of cultivators, the cultivation world has continued to grow stronger. Nascent Soul cultivators live for three thousand years, far from being immortal.

Ji An had never heard of what lay beyond the Nascent Soul stage; he only knew that there were even higher realms.

Jia Yu remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly. His lifespan was less than a hundred years, and seeing cultivators leave because of their lifespan always filled him with a unique sadness.

He took another sip of wine, spilling quite a bit from the corner of his mouth, which he hastily wiped away with his sleeve.
"When did you get back, and how long do you plan to stay?"

Talking about this topic again will only add to the sadness.

"I came back three days ago, had breakfast at Crimson Flame Peak, and then slept until yesterday afternoon. I plan to stay for about a year."

"Senior brother, may I go pay my respects to the Ancestor now? I have something to report."

Jia Yu took out a golden communication sword, entered the information, activated it, and said:
"Let me ask around for you. What's wrong? You look quite serious."

Ji An pondered and said:
"Traces of a demonic cultivator have also been discovered in the Red Rock Immortal City in the far north. I estimate he is at least at the Golden Core level, because he escaped while being pursued by a Nascent Soul cultivator."

On my way back to my sect, I discovered traces of this demonic cultivator in Silvermoon City, which isn't too far from the Western Continent.

The matter doesn't need to be kept strictly secret; at least the higher-ups in the sect should know about it.

Jia Yu said with some disbelief:

"Junior brother, what evidence do you have that the demonic cultivators appearing in Red Rock Immortal City and Silver Moon City are the same ones?"

“This demonic cultivator is different. He can use special methods to parasitize cultivators, thus turning the cultivator’s body into a breeding ground for demonic infants.”

Ji An recounted the demonic cultivators' methods in detail, and continued:

"The demonic cultivators found in both places used exactly the same methods, which is why I believe they are the same people."

Furthermore, it's not impossible that demonic cultivators could have wandered into the Western Continent.

If I were a demonic cultivator, knowing the current situation in the Western Continent, I would definitely choose to go there.

It's a tragedy that such a vast continent has no Nascent Soul cultivators to oversee it. However, this land did not belong to the human race before, and the area now occupied by the human race is only on the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Jia Yu's expression turned serious, and her back straightened involuntarily.

"We definitely have to be on guard."

A golden light flew in from outside the hall. Jia Yu caught it and, after examining it, said:

"Grandmaster Yuxiao is waiting for you in the Wuji Palace. You should go there quickly."

“Okay,” Ji An stood up and asked again:
"Where is Liu Suyun buried? I'll go and pay my respects in a while."

The value of the several Earth Spirit Fruit trees given to them by the other party far exceeds the value of the debt.

In fact, once the spirit trees are cultivated to the second level, it becomes a luxury to transplant them back to the Spider Cave, but nominally those spirit trees still belong to the other party.

Jia Yu also stood up, looking out of the hall:
"Without a burial place, his ashes were scattered in the dense forests of the mountains."

"When I pass away one day, I only request that my ashes be scattered in the dense forest outside this great hall."

Ji An landed in the Wuji Palace and saw that the palace door was open. The smoke rising from the two incense burners at the entrance was blown away by the strong wind, and the star banners hanging in the room fluttered in the wind.

Before he could speak, a gentle voice came from inside, "Come in."

The sound wasn't loud, but it wasn't dispersed by the strong wind at all.

He strode into the hall and solemnly cupped his hands in greeting:
"Disciple Ji An, I pay my respects to the ancestor."

Master Yuxiao gently raised his hand, "Sit down and let's talk."

"I'm curious, this trip is quite different from what I originally expected. Did we encounter any problems along the way?"

"No, everything went smoothly during my trip."

Ji An briefly recounted his own experiences and then mentioned the demonic cultivators of Red Rock Immortal City.

Master Yuxiao's expression turned solemn. "Demon cultivators at the Golden Core level are not easy to deal with. If they reach the late Golden Core stage, he may only be able to protect himself."

The fact that demonic cultivators can create demonic puppets, and that these puppets can retain their original consciousness, makes it difficult for them to detect that the cultivators have had their "cores replaced," is the most terrifying thing.

He pondered for a moment and asked:
Do you know what countermeasures the North has in place?

Ji An took out dozens of Cleansing Spirit Talismans, including both first and second tier talismans.

"They use these talismans to detect demonic energy and purify pollution; the higher the level of the talisman, the more sensitive it is to demonic energy."

However, it can only prevent and identify infested individuals, but it has no therapeutic effect. If a cultivator is found to be infected, there is no other way but to kill them.

Master Yuxiao took out a talisman and activated it, emitting a faint golden light that made people feel warm.

"Using the spiritual energy of Yang to detect the demonic energy of Yin is indeed effective; talismans should be useful."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Ji An's brows furrowed tightly, and he asked, puzzled:

'Demonic energy is yin and turbid energy; does that mean that so-called demons can be considered a manifestation of the Dao?'

Master Yuxiao nodded slightly, “The Dao is a state of perfect harmony and unity. We ordinary people can never see such a state in our lifetime, and even if we do, we may not be able to fathom its mysteries.”

Yin and Yang move and the clear and the turbid are separated. In essence, everything we see is caused by the changes of Yin and Yang.

Demonic energy only cultivates yin and turbid power, which is why demonic cultivators can advance their cultivation by leaps and bounds.

But yin cannot produce life alone, and yang cannot grow alone; the price that demonic cultivators pay is also very obvious.

However, the Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Cycle is forty-nine, and one is omitted. While the path of demonic cultivation is initially easy but becomes difficult later, it is not a dead end.

(End of this chapter)