Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 544 Cleansing Sand

After leaving the auction house, Ji An parted ways with his fellow disciples. At this moment, the bright moon hung in the sky, and the merchant's flying boat was bustling with people. The noise here would continue until after midnight.

Ji An first went to the Golden Puppet Pavilion next door, and he said to the maid:

"I want to sell a batch of second-tier top-grade spiritual materials. Who should I talk to?"

The maid smiled sweetly, "Please follow me to the VIP room, senior. The Pavilion Master will be here to speak with you soon."

As a professionally trained service worker, she could easily identify a customer by their clothing.

The other party's Taoist robe was embroidered with a unique pattern of the Golden Spirit Sect, from which it could be identified that the other party was a Golden Core cultivator.

Cultivators at this level can only be received by the Pavilion Master personally.

Ji An was led into the VIP room to wait. The maid hurriedly left, and soon a refined-looking monk entered.

"Haha, we just met at the auction. I am Xuanmu Zhenren of the Golden Puppet Pavilion. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"

Ji An smiled, recalling that they had indeed met when he left. "I am Xuanqing Zhenren of the Jinling Sect. It's a pleasure to meet you."

After exchanging pleasantries, Ji An took out three pieces of Azure Dragon Wood, each about ten feet long, and explained his purpose:
"I have a batch of second-tier top-grade Azure Dragon Wood. I'll sell it if the price is right."

He presented three pieces of spiritual material that could be combined into a whole plant, which would fetch a higher price when sold as a whole. It was said that this would allow for better coordination when crafting large puppets.

Now that he is a Golden Core cultivator, the price he can sell spiritual materials for should be higher than before.

Master Xuanmu's expression suddenly changed, but he quickly recovered.

He extended his divine sense to examine the spirit wood, and the powerful and vigorous dragon roar echoed in his sea of ​​consciousness.

After inspecting the spirit wood, he suppressed his joy and said in a deep voice:

"This is the main material of a whole Azure Dragon Wood tree, full of spiritual energy. We are willing to buy it for seventy high-grade spirit stones."

If you sell ten or more plants, the purchase price can reach seventy-five high-grade spirit stones.

During the day, cultivators from the Golden Spirit Sect had already come by and sold many top-grade Azure Dragon Woods, which were of similar quality to this one.

Previously, only the Divine Wood Sect could reliably produce spirit wood of this quality.

However, the Divine Tree Sect sells spiritual materials of this quality for ninety high-grade spirit stones per plant.

He has now confirmed that the Golden Spirit Sect has found a way to mass-produce second-tier top-grade Azure Dragon Wood.

For the Golden Puppet Pavilion, finding a supplier to replace the Divine Wood Sect would be the best thing ever.

Ji An revealed a strange smile. The price was much higher than he had expected. He had originally thought that he would be lucky to get around sixty high-grade spirit stones.

He remained silent, waiting for the other party's reaction, hoping to gain some more high-grade spirit stones.

Seeing his reaction, Master Xuanmu said gently:
“Fellow Daoist, this price is already very reasonable. My main reason for offering such a high price is that I want to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with you.”

A person came to his door selling spiritual materials, and he guessed that the person was most likely a cultivator from the Golden Spirit Sect who had cultivated the top-grade Azure Dragon Wood.

Because if it's for the sect's sake, at least two people should come together to avoid suspicion.

Bargaining wasn't Ji An's forte, and most importantly, he was satisfied with the price, so he took out most of the spiritual materials he had.

There were twelve trees in total, but two remained in the cave stone, making the spacious VIP room feel crowded immediately.

Master Xuanmu's face lit up with surprise; he felt he had guessed correctly.

After inspecting the spiritual materials, he took out a pile of high-grade spirit stones, counted them to ensure there were enough, and said:
"Fellow Daoist, please proceed with the calculations."

"Yes, nine hundred high-grade spirit stones, that's right."

As he spoke, Ji An put the spirit stones away.

Xuanmu Zhenren stored the Azure Dragon Wood into the Cave Void Stone and said sincerely:
"Fellow Daoist, what do you think of my suggestion?"
If we can maintain our cooperation, and if you can provide more than ten pieces of the same quality of top-grade Azure Dragon Wood when we meet again, I am willing to offer two high-grade spirit stones as a token of my gratitude.

The thank-you fee will not be included in the transaction; this is my way of showing my sincerity.

News of the weakening of the Demon Cave's seal has spread among the major Nascent Soul sects, and the approved disciples of each sect are also aware of this news.

All sects are preparing for the future, and the prices of various resources that can enhance combat power are gradually rising.

Ji An stroked his chin as if thinking, then nodded.

"I will do my best, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to harvest ten top-grade Azure Dragon Woods."

The spirit fields in the main area of ​​Crimson Flame Peak have all been cultivated to the third level. It only takes more than 20 years to cultivate second-level top-grade Azure Dragon Wood from seeds. Now, the planting scale of Azure Dragon Wood has been expanded to a total of 20 acres, with 10 trees per acre.

The density is much lower than before because third-tier spirit wood will be born one after another, and enough space needs to be left.

Completing the task of growing ten plants is not an easy task.

Master Xuanmu took out a spirit stone and handed it over, smiling:

"No matter how much you accomplish, fellow Daoist, these two spirit stones are my token of gratitude."

With the mindset of "why not take it if it's free," Ji An accepted the spirit stone and very naturally put it into the Void Stone.

Master Xuanmu was in high spirits. Although the other party had not explicitly agreed to a long-term cooperation, as long as he received the spirit stones, he would consider it half a success.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ji An asked:
"Does fellow Daoist know where to purchase associated minerals?"

He had once toured the merchant airship, but he did not recall seeing any shops that specialized in selling associated minerals.

The three talismans can be drawn using cinnabar instead of the essence blood of demonic beasts; this cinnabar is made from various associated minerals. However, Ji An only has the cinnabar recipe for the Mind-Stabilizing Talisman. To draw other third-tier talismans, he needs to explore and find the cinnabar recipes.

"May I ask what you intend to use it for, fellow Daoist? Because associated minerals have multiple uses, I don't understand what you're using it for, so I can't give you a specific answer."

"Used to grind cinnabar."

"Oh, is that so? It seems you want to obtain third-grade elixir sand."

There's a Chen's General Store in the northwest corner of the flying boat; you can go check it out. Just say you were referred by Master Xuanmu of the Golden Puppet Pavilion. I have some influence there.

Ji An cupped his hands in greeting and said sincerely, "Thank you for showing me the way, fellow Daoist."

He sighed inwardly. It seemed that using cinnabar to replace the essence blood of demonic beasts was not a secret in the Central Continent, otherwise even a cultivator who made puppets would know about it.

Seeing the whole leopard from a single spot, he now looked forward to his trip to the Central Plains even more.

After obtaining the seeds of several precious plants, he chose to leave. These high-level spiritual plant seeds would probably not be easy to obtain even in the Central Continent.

The two got along much better, and before they knew it, the moon was setting in the west, and the sound of jade chimes came from outside the window.

Master Xuanmu looked out the window and said:

"It's been a pleasure exchanging ideas with you, fellow Daoist. The flying boat is about to be sealed off, so why don't we have a candlelit chat tonight? Wouldn't that be delightful?"

The two inevitably exchanged information about their past cultivation experiences, and he could sense that the other's understanding of the cultivation techniques had reached a level that was difficult for ordinary cultivators to achieve.

He was very impressed that a cultivator in such a remote place as the Western Continent possessed such insight.

Ji An could distinguish between polite words and formalities. He politely declined the invitation, took his leave, and returned to the sect's residence in the immortal city.

The next day, at Chen's Grocery Store.

There was a small counter at the entrance. There were no other customers in the shop at the moment. The small space was filled with shelves full of odds and ends.

Ji An glanced at it and then looked away. It was fair to say that all the things displayed in the open were rubbish; the shop owner would never display the truly good stuff in the open.

He coughed lightly and said in a deep voice:
"Is the shop owner here? We have a customer."

A short, elderly man emerged from behind the shelves. He had white hair and beard, wore a black Taoist robe, and his small eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

"Sir, are you buying or selling?"

Ji An stated his purpose directly: "I am Xuanqing Zhenren. I was introduced by Xuanmu Zhenren of Jin Kui Pavilion. I would like to purchase some associated minerals to grind into cinnabar."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper covered in writing and handed it over.

"So this is the way of old man Xuanmu. Greetings, fellow Daoist. Just call me Old Chen."

From these few words, it's clear that Old Chen is a very individualistic cultivator. Normally, Golden Core cultivators would address others by their Daoist title.

Old Chen addresses Ji An as "fellow Daoist," which implies he is a Golden Core cultivator, yet he refers to himself as Old Chen; the reason for this is unknown.

Old Chen took the paper, glanced at it quickly, and said:
"I have all the materials here. We'll settle the bill according to the quantities you marked. It will cost a total of ninety-six high-grade spirit stones. No credit, no bargaining."

Ji An forced a smile; the other person had already said everything, so he had nothing to say.

He prepared enough cinnabar to draw hundreds of talismans, but he didn't expect it to be so expensive.

"Alright, fellow Daoist, please proceed with the order."

"Fellow Daoist, you are very generous. If you hadn't said that you were introduced by Elder Xuanmu, I would have charged you one hundred high-grade spirit stones."

Old Chen came to the counter and occasionally took out associated minerals from the cave stone, explaining what they were before weighing them.

"Fifty catties of Huanling Sha (a type of elixir)."

After Old Chen finished speaking, he took out a very thick cloth bag, scooped out the spirit sand with a large spoon, and placed it on the tray.

Ji An's gaze sharpened. "Wait."

This so-called Cleansing Sand looked very familiar. The yellowish crystalline sand had a warm, jade-like texture. He pinched it with his fingers and rubbed it to analyze the feel.

"Is there a problem?" Old Chen asked slowly, sounding rather impatient.

"This kind of cleansing sand isn't a by-product mineral, is it?"

"Of course not, but it is required in your recipe."

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I am not questioning you. I just did not expect that the Cleansing Spirit Sand was made from the jade pupa of the Soul-Devouring Insect during its metamorphosis."

I currently have a batch of jade cocoons stored up, enough to last us.

Ji An explained that the quality of this Cleansing Spirit Sand was much better than that produced by Crimson Flame Peak, but still inferior to that produced in the Small World. He had no need to buy Cleansing Spirit Sand now.

"So you're an expert. But let me give you a piece of advice: if the quality of the Cleansing Spirit Sand isn't good enough, it will affect the quality of the Cinnabar."

The purpose of the Cleansing Sand is to purify impurities in other minerals. If its quality is not high, you know the consequences.

Now, are you sticking with your existing inventory?

"Thank you for informing me, fellow Daoist. I believe the quality of the stock I have is fine."

Old Chen's eyes narrowed into slits. "If you have any extra jade cocoons, you can sell some to me. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the price, provided the quality is good enough."

(End of this chapter)