Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 541 The Predicament of Fallen Maple Valley
Scattered around the Gathering Yuan Tree are many insect towers. The Soul-Devouring Insects have no enemies in the small world, and their population is expanding rapidly.

If the puppets didn't capture large numbers of spirit insects every two days to feed the spirit fish and fire crystal ants, the spirit-devouring insects would have become rampant in the small world.

They live by absorbing spiritual energy, and if their numbers become too large, they will inevitably take away the living space of spiritual plants.

Why do sects limit the number of cultivators at each spiritual vein node? The fundamental reason is that too many high-level cultivators absorbing spiritual energy would cause a shortage of spiritual energy.

If this continues, the spiritual fields will not be nourished, which will affect the spiritual veins in the earth.

For any faction, unless the spiritual veins begin to dry up, they will do everything they can to upgrade the grade of the spiritual veins.

The practice of draining the pond to catch all the fish is despised by all cultivators.

Ji An didn't know how many times these spirit-devouring insects had undergone metamorphosis. He only knew that the jade pupa formed during the metamorphosis of the spirit insects was of the highest quality, reaching the standard of a second-tier top-grade spirit object.

These jade pupae, after being ground and sprinkled into the spiritual field, can still improve the soil.

He always felt that these jade pupae should have other uses, but he couldn't find any.

Ji An activated the Earth Vein Life-Generating Technique, and yellow spiritual light spread out, forming a golden lotus pattern on the ground.

He rode away on a cloud and arrived at the white spiritual field area. The two Vajra Bodhi trees were growing well and were already second-grade high-quality spiritual plants. He believed that they would be able to be cultivated to the top-grade level in a few years.

Refining the Vajra Bodhi Fruit can enhance a cultivator's physical strength and defense; it is more suitable for body cultivators.

For Ji An, refining the Vajra Bodhi Fruit also has its benefits, as his physical body is still only at the level of a body cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage.

Once the Vajra Bodhi tree is cultivated to the second-tier top-grade level, he will refine the fruit to improve himself; it won't take much time anyway.

He activated the Earth Vein Life-Generating Technique once more, and then flew to the black spirit field.
After flying clockwise around the small world, Ji An finally arrived at the Crimson Spirit Field.

In the lava lake of the lava abyss, you can see small, reddish-gold fish, about an inch long, swaying their tails; the large fish rarely appears on the surface.

Around the lava lake, in the shallow waters, clusters of fire corals bloom with small red flowers, and swarms of amethyst bees visit to collect nectar.

On the ground, a different scene unfolds: fire crystal ants gnaw on the crystals on the surface of the fire coral and then carry them back to their nests.

Many of the earliest planted fire corals reached the second-tier premium level, and the nectar produced here is extremely delicious.

Moreover, Ji An discovered that nectar could nourish the Fire God's Palace, which further strengthened his determination to engage in planting.

Even without elixirs to consume, his cultivation level was able to maintain visible progress, thanks in large part to high-grade spiritual food.

It's a pity that the nectar of the second-tier top-grade Jade Leaf Mulberry doesn't have the effect of nourishing the Wood Element Divine Palace, but he will find another spiritual plant to replace it in the future.

After inspecting the fire coral, Ji An flew to the sky above the spirit field. He looked down at the pearl blood rice plants and frowned slightly.

Based on past experience, these plants should have matured gradually over the past two weeks. Now, only a small portion has matured, while the majority of the remaining plants show no signs of maturity.

He landed in the field, broke off a few ears of rice, clasped his hands together and began to thresh the grain manually.

As Ji An put the rice grains in his mouth and chewed, his eyes immediately lit up, as the spiritual energy contained in the rice grains was much greater than before.

"Hehe, I see!"

He burst into laughter, for the spirit rice produced by these immature plants had become mid-grade second-tier rice!

Pearl Blood Rice is a rapidly growing spiritual plant, and its grade improvement is of great significance.

Ji An flew around the spirit field a few times, then left happily, returning to the center of the small world. He sat cross-legged under the Gathering Yuan Tree and began cultivating the Five Elements Revolving Scripture.

The improved grade of the Heavenly Spirit Tree also provided him with a better environment for cultivation.

If the spiritual veins of the small world are upgraded to the third rank, he will spend all his cultivation time here.

Time flies, and fifteen years have passed like smoke in the wind.

Fallen Maple Valley, Myriad Splendor Palace.

A gentle evening breeze stirred, causing the rising smoke from the incense burner in the main hall to dissipate.

The wind chimes under the eaves rang out melodiously, but to the ears of the few people present, they did not find it pleasant.

Master Huoyun frowned and sighed:

"Tell me, what should we do next?"

In recent years, the Golden Spirit Sect has not shown a strong desire for expansion, but has instead actively explored markets in other continents.

This is a good sign for Maple Valley, but it has also created new, more fatal problems.

For a long time, Fallen Maple Valley has controlled a large proportion of the pill trade in the Western Continent, as well as a considerable portion of the formation trade.

Yuanhe Mountain, Jinling Sect, and many other relatively large family forces are their loyal customers.

With Yuanhe Mountain announcing its closure and Jinling Sect turning to exploring broader channels, Luofeng Valley suddenly found its status had plummeted.

The fact that pills that never had unsold stock are now piling up is something that was unimaginable before.

Previously, the main customers for these pills were two other sects, who consumed nearly a third of the production. Now, it's not that they want to hoard them, but rather that demand has plummeted.

The Yuanhe Mountain market has been completely wiped out. In recent years, the Jinling Sect has had no need for low-grade pills, and at the same time, the demand for high-grade pills has also decreased significantly.

They either lower prices to seize the low-end market from independent cultivators, or they follow the example of the Golden Spirit Sect to expand into the outer continent market.

If the attempt to break the deadlock fails, Fallen Maple Valley will inevitably decline.

Master Huoyun was puzzled as to why the sect's situation would suddenly worsen in an era without war.

If Ji An were here, he would definitely give him a piece of advice for free: "When the times abandon you, they won't even say goodbye."

Hua Yang Zhenren scratched his head and pulled his hair. Things did not develop as everyone had guessed. The situation in Xizhou was very calm, but they were unknowingly submerged.

Master Chongxuan said in a deep voice, "If the current situation continues to develop, the development of the sect will inevitably be greatly affected."

The sect's reforms over the years haven't been very effective. If we can't keep up with the Golden Spirit Sect's pace, we won't have the resources to compete with them in a few hundred years.

The Golden Spirit Sect's demand for elixirs decreased, but the Fallen Maple Valley's demand for beast taming and magical artifacts did not, resulting in an unbalanced flow of resources.

The key point is that the Golden Spirit Sect achieved this situation without making any dangerous moves. If they were dealing with a smaller force, they could easily find an excuse to intimidate them.

But the opponent is the Golden Spirit Sect. Now, let alone using our power to suppress them, we'd be lucky if we weren't suppressed ourselves.

Master Huayang's expression was solemn, and he said with a wry smile:

"Reform takes time to be effective. Even if we force it to be implemented, it will only shorten the process. We cannot go against the laws of nature. It will take at least 30 or 40 years to establish a new order."

No one expected the rise of the Golden Spirit Sect to be so rapid, catching them off guard. Coupled with their slow adjustment, the situation has fallen into a completely passive state.

Master Chongxuan shook his head wearily and said softly:
"Senior brother, there are ready-made experiences to learn from now on. This path can make the sect stronger, so why not do it?"
Now that Yuanhe Mountain is closed, we have lost the opportunity to unite against them. Let's first reorganize our internal affairs. With the foundation we've built up over thousands of years, we might still have a chance to contend with the Jinling Sect.

Many cultivators in the sect are short-sighted, only seeing the immediate losses they will incur, while remaining blind to the greater benefits they can gain in the future.

The three discussed for a while, but couldn't reach a conclusion. Master Huoyun, looking quite weary, waved his hand dismissively.

Let's discuss it again in a few days.

Hua Yang Zhenren suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said:

“Senior brother, the merchant ships from the Central Continent arrived yesterday. Those powerful forces don’t want to see a strong Western Continent. Why not use their power to curb the development of the Golden Spirit Sect?”

Master Chongxuan's eyes narrowed sharply. If it were discovered that he had introduced other forces to interfere in the situation, no one knew what kind of retaliation the Golden Spirit Sect would retaliate against him.

This tactic is harmful to both oneself and others, and it will give others a handle to use against one; it is not something a wise person would do.

Master Huoyun said in a deep voice:
"What do you think, Junior Brother?"

"The forces in the Central Continent have always secretly investigated the intelligence of the Western Continent. As long as we inform them of the development of the Golden Spirit Sect in recent years, they will naturally verify it."

We don't need to do anything; just speak up, and the forces of Central Continent will know what to do.

The forces in the Central Continent will inevitably restrict the flow of Golden Core cultivators and other strategic resources into the Golden Spirit Sect, and may even support Fallen Maple Valley.

Master Chongxuan hurriedly shook his head, "Senior brother, I think this is inappropriate, and the results will be slower."

Doing so will only arouse the suspicion of the Golden Spirit Sect, and may even cause a greater conflict.

Master Huoyun took a deep breath. "Let me think about it carefully."

Frankly, he was unwilling to resort to such underhanded tactics and would rather have a direct confrontation, but since this involved the future succession of the sect, he had no other choice but to use some dirty methods.

The Golden Spirit Sect is located atop Chaoyang Peak.

As the sun sets, the golden phoenix trees sway in the evening breeze.

Ji An looked at the clusters of purple flowers blooming on the branches, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

After it blooms, it will produce seeds that look like paulownia seeds. He will take one and plant it in the small world.

Just as he was grinning foolishly, Master Yuxiao flew over and shouted:

“Junior brother, the merchant airship from Zhongzhou has arrived. Let’s go together in half a month to participate in the auction for Golden Core cultivators.”

"Okay, but I don't have any Tier 3 resources or many high-grade spirit stones, so I'm afraid I can only watch from the sidelines."

Aside from pills, Ji An didn't think he needed to buy anything else, but pills were the most competitive item, and he didn't know how many he could manage to snag.

"Stop complaining about being poor in front of me. Putting aside everything else, you must have a lot of second-tier top-grade Azure Dragon Wood in your possession, right?"
Add to that two third-tier Azure Dragon Trees, and if you're willing, there's no one in the sect richer than you!

Tears of poverty welled up in Master Yuxiao's eyes; he had witnessed firsthand the extravagance of top-tier spirit farmers in earning spirit stones.

The third-tier spirit peaches and dragon blood trees in Crimson Flame Peak have not yet begun to bear fruit; otherwise, the other party's wealth would be comparable to half a sect.

(End of this chapter)