Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 571 Purchasing Spirit Seeds
Three days later, cloud dragons and wind tigers gathered at the summit of the immortal city, their roars and howls carrying for miles.

Ji An let out a long breath; he was probably even more nervous than the cultivators who were breaking through.

After all, the other party must have been free of distractions when breaking through. Although he didn't show it on his face, he couldn't help but feel anxious and uncertain, because the other party's spiritual energy vortex had become unstable several times in the past few days.

At that moment, he kept praying that the other party would be alright, at least until the golden core was refined, otherwise all his efforts would be in vain.

At this moment, he was completely relaxed and observed the changing clouds on the mountaintop with a calm mind.

As the dragon and tiger disperse, crimson tribulation clouds begin to gather in the sky. When a cultivator breaks through to the Golden Core stage, the tribulation lightning follows a set pattern.

When male cultivators break through, the first tribulation is always the fire element tribulation. Then, following the order of the five elements' mutual generation, the earth, metal, water, and wood element tribulations descend in sequence, with the final tribulation being the chaos tribulation.

For female cultivators breaking through, the first tribulation is the water-element tribulation.

A tense atmosphere began to permeate the immortal city; everyone knew that the real test had begun.

The lightning tribulations descended in succession, and finally the purple tribulation clouds slowly dissipated, revealing a bright moon in the sky, vying with the blazing sun.

The stone tortoise returned to Ji An's side, back to his dantian, and lay prostrate between the Yuanming Fire and the Azure Lotus Burning Heart Fire, its shell occasionally flashing with light.

Ji An rubbed his hands together, feeling a sense of anticipation like opening a blind box. His divine sense connected with the stone tortoise, and the words immediately appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness.

[Master: Ji An]

[Tao Yun: Gold 14.8, Water 14.2, Wood 14.3, Fire 18.9, Earth 18.6]

He severed his connection with the stone turtle and muttered, "Not bad."

As he descended from the sky, Zhang Jun squeezed through the crowd, cupped his hands, and said:
"Senior, the matter you asked me to do has been completed. Since they are all seeds, although the quantity is not small, after my bargaining, the actual price is not high. It cost a total of one hundred and forty-six mid-grade spirit stones."

As he spoke, he handed over a storage bag with both hands, saying, "The seeds and the remaining spirit stones are all inside."

He even paid for this storage bag; he couldn't just use a cloth bag, that would be too shabby.

The other party is a Golden Core cultivator; if he feels uncomfortable, he will lose his stable source of income.

Ji An took the storage bag, probed it with his divine sense to check each item, and nodded in satisfaction.

He took out two mid-grade spirit stones and handed them over, saying, "This is your reward."

Zhang Jun took out a spirit stone, then waved his hand and said:

"This is enough for my reward, plus a bonus. Any more would be greedy."

He knew very well that his efforts were not worth two mid-grade spirit stones, and if he shamelessly accepted them, it might give the other party a bad impression.

After years of hard work and experience, he understands that only long-term businesses can generate more profits.

A look of approval flashed in Ji An's eyes; knowing when to advance and when to retreat was a very good quality.

"I need someone to help me buy medicinal herbs. Are you free?"

He purchased a batch of pills at the auction, enough to last him until the next major auction. He spent twenty pills to obtain the Immovable King Technique, so he still needs to continue creating pill formulas.

If he creates a new pill formula, he can not only solve his pill shortage problem, but also improve his alchemist certification rating. His reputation will have an effect in places that are not visible to others.

Zhang Jun straightened his back and said in a loud voice, "Always ready to serve our seniors!"

"Alright, take this mid-grade spirit stone first; it's an advance payment."

From now on, you must go to Blackstone Mountain to find me every two weeks.

After discussing the matter, Ji An rode a cloud away from the Immortal City. Upon returning to his cave in Black Stone Mountain, he immediately entered the Calabash World.

With his feet firmly planted on the yellow earth, he gazed at the over ten-foot-tall Gathering Yuan Tree, his mind connecting with the stone tortoise:
"Refine all the Dao essence to upgrade the grade of the Gathering Yuan Tree."

The stone tortoise appeared above the spirit tree, and Bagua patterns appeared on the ground, surrounding the Gathering Yuan Tree in the middle.

The radiance of the Bagua diagram pattern grew increasingly dazzling, and the yellow spiritual light enveloped the spirit tree, forming a huge cocoon of light.

Transformation takes time, so Ji An didn't stay put and wait. He rode a cloud to the pond and caught a precious dragonfish at the Chaoyuan stage.

They skillfully scrape off the scales and remove the entrails, then marinate it with various seasonings.

He returned to the vicinity of the Gathering Yuan Tree and began to observe the growth of the Spirit Devouring Insects.

These spirit insects are now translucent and flawless white; if they lie still, they look like jade carvings.

He had long since lost count of how many times the spirit insect had undergone metamorphosis, and the spirit-cleansing sand made from the jade pupa was already close to the third rank in quality.

A moment later, the stone tortoise returned to his body, and the cocoon of light shattered, scattering into countless rays of light.

Ji An turned his head and saw that the spiritual light of the Gathering Yuan Tree was a little brighter than before, but there was no other change.

"Sigh," he sighed softly. This spirit tree had received countless nourishments over the years, and more than a hundred points of Dao essence had been spent on it, but its grade had not improved.

Back then, it only cost a little over two hundred points of Daoist essence to upgrade the Calabash World to the third tier.

It must be said that the Gathering Yuan Tree has the prestige of being a spiritual tree of heaven and earth.

Now he only hopes that more cultivators will choose to break through to the Golden Core stage in the Immortal City, so that he can benefit from it.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head: why not grow the medicinal herbs for forming the Golden Core himself and then entrust an auction house to auction them off?
After thinking for a moment, he gently shook his head. Doing so would be quite risky; he feared that someone with ulterior motives might trace the source of his materials.

Although he can't sell in Middle-earth, he can go back to West-earth.

Ji An grinned and decided to go to the Immortal City again tomorrow to see if he could buy the seeds of the spiritual herb.

In addition, after receiving the commission to refine the Golden Core Pill, he can keep some to take back to the Western Continent.

The cultivator who acquires a Golden Core through an auction house may not be able to enjoy the Daoist essence, because cultivators from large families or other powerful forces who purchase the pills have high-level spiritual veins in their own sects, so they will not break through in the Immortal City.

However, if the Golden Core is brought back to the Western Continent, the stone turtle can absorb Dao essence several times with just a few pills.

"Just do it!"

Ji An rode the clouds to the pond, placed the marinated spirit fish on the barbecue grill, and cooked pearl blood rice.

A moment later, the aroma of meat and rice filled the air.

"This life is wonderful!"

After a hearty meal, he sowed seeds in the yellow, red, and white spiritual fields, planting spiritual herbs and medicines that would help in the production of third-tier talismans.

Only these three spiritual fields have idle land, and in the future, the order in which he exchanges for talisman-making techniques will be Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talisman, Wu Earth Divine Thunder Talisman, and Bing Fire Divine Thunder Talisman.

The other two types of thunder runes are in relatively low demand, and he has no plans to exchange them for the time being.

He also planted broad beans, fennel, laurel, and other precious vegetables in the gaps of the mulberry fields. Fennel beans were made by simmering dried broad beans with fennel, cinnamon, salt, and water over a low flame.

No fennel or cinnamon purchased from elsewhere can compare to the quality of those he grows himself.

The sound of a dragon's roar echoed from the small world, and as the spiritual rain fell, the seeds took root and sprouted.

Ji An checked the warehouses in each of the spirit fields, mentally calculating his own assets, and a smile appeared on his face.

Having enough food on hand keeps you calm and secure; that's the principle behind it.

After leaving the small world, he planted broad beans, fennel, and other things in the woods outside the cave. Later, when guests came here and tasted the unique fennel beans, they would subconsciously assume that they were grown outside.

This creates a logical loop, so no one would guess that his stuff has another source.

Once the Azure Dragon Wood is cultivated to the second-tier top-grade level, he will sell a batch, and then plant Spirit Peach and Dragon Blood Tree as a cover. He may refine these spiritual fruits into pills and sell them in large quantities.

It's better to plan ahead now than to have to resort to last-minute scrambling later.

The next day, it's time.

Ji An finished his cultivation and left the small world. He heard a call coming from outside the cave, which sounded like Zhang Jun's voice.

He stepped out of the cave and found that it was indeed the other person. He made a hand seal to open the magic barrier and release the door.

Zhang Jun rushed in, his face flushed:
"Senior, good news! Another cultivator is breaking through to the Golden Core stage in the cave in the Immortal City!"

At Chenshi (7-9 AM) today, he had just arrived in the Immortal City when he soon saw spiritual energy swirling at the mountaintop.

Judging from the area of ​​the vortex, it must possess the power that only those who have broken through to the Golden Core stage can achieve.

Ji An raised an eyebrow and burst into laughter:
"Haha, that's definitely good news."

"Come on, let's go take a look. I was just about to go to the Immortal City to buy some things!"

Crimson clouds rose from beneath his feet, carrying the two of them as they sped towards the celestial city.

Two quarters of an hour later, Ji An could see the vortex of spiritual energy on the mountaintop in the distance. Judging from its size, it was slightly smaller than the one that had formed a few days earlier.

Upon landing in the immortal city, he inquired:
"Are you busy today? If not, come with me to buy some spirit seeds."

"It's alright, what do you need to buy, senior? I'd like to think about which shops would be suitable."

"Go directly to the largest spiritual medicine shop for the seeds of various medicinal herbs used to form the Golden Core."

The Golden Elixir is a third-tier elixir, and small shops are simply not qualified to sell it.

Zhang Jun bowed slightly and said:

"Alright, senior, this way please!"

The largest spirit medicine shop in the Immortal City is undoubtedly the Cloud Sea Pharmacy, which is directly under the Merchant Alliance. The pharmacy occupies almost half of the street and its business covers all levels from Qi Refining to Golden Core.

They buy and sell spiritual herbs and medicines, spiritual seeds, pills, and everything else related to pills.

However, pills for the Golden Core stage are only available through 'proxy refining,' where the cultivator provides the medicinal herbs and the alchemist in the medicine shop is responsible for refining them.

It is said to be a transparent operation, with both parties agreeing on a success rate for the pills, and adjusting the refining costs accordingly. The cultivators who produce the spiritual medicine during the refining process can watch the entire process.

The two arrived at the most lavishly decorated shop in the pharmacy. Zhang Jun said to the welcoming maid:

"We want to buy the spiritual plant seeds from the Golden Core Elixir formula. Who should we talk to?"

Although he was a middleman, he had no business relationship with the pharmacy; such a large shop had no need to cooperate with him.

A well-to-do-looking butler approached and said gently:
“I can make the decision. Although the Golden Core is a third-tier pill, the seeds of the spiritual plant are not high-end products.”

The main ingredients for the Golden Elixir are five kinds, and the auxiliary ingredients are fifteen kinds. Many of these medicinal materials grow in very special environments. It is simply a pipe dream to try to cultivate them in the spiritual field without hundreds of years of targeted cultivation.

Even if such spiritual fields are cultivated, the annual maintenance costs are still considerable.

Therefore, neither the pharmacy nor other major powers felt any pressure to sell spirit seeds.

A power without sufficient resources will only go bankrupt if it tries to cultivate special medicinal herbs.

Not only the medicinal materials in the formula for forming the Golden Elixir, but also the higher the level of the spiritual plant, the more demanding the environmental requirements.

The deacon paused, his expression softening further. His gaze swept past Zhang Jun before returning to his own. "May I ask what kind of spirit seeds you are purchasing?"

Some people fantasize that they can buy a spirit seed just by mentioning the name of a pill formula; that's impossible.

Zhang Jun stepped aside; he no longer had the right to speak and could only leave the negotiation to Ji An.

Ji An didn't care about the shopkeeper's attitude; he could guess what the shopkeeper was thinking.

He took out the jade slip containing the formula for the Golden Core Pill and handed it over, saying calmly:
"Mix it for me according to this ratio, with 20% more spirit seeds, enough for twenty batches."

The steward took the jade slip, examined it against his forehead, quickly put down the prescription, and returned it with both hands.

"Please wait a moment, esteemed guest, I will take care of it right away."

He turned to the maid and instructed, "Take these two distinguished guests to the VIP room to wait."

The other party's pill formula was genuine, and their tone was calm and confident, indicating that they were a cultivator capable of refining Golden Core pills. Such cultivators should not be treated lightly.

The maid was not qualified to know the medicinal materials needed for the prescription, so he had to go to the warehouse to get them himself.

Ji An and Zhang Jun were led to the VIP room. Zhang Jun took a sip of the spiritual tea that was served to him and managed to utter two words, "Good tea."

The spiritual tea contained abundant spiritual energy, and drinking it made him feel comfortable all over, and his internal magical power also became more active. It was the best spiritual tea he had ever drunk.

At this moment, he longed to sit down cross-legged and circulate his internal energy to refine it, but considering his image, he managed to restrain himself.

Ji An took a small sip and gave a polite smile.

The spiritual tea was of the second-tier top-grade level. The other party was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so of course he thought it was good, but for him, the tea was too rough.

He put down his teacup and closed his eyes to rest, while Zhang Jun carefully sipped his tea, his expression becoming increasingly rapt.

Not long after, the butler entered the room carrying a tray and coughed lightly twice.

After Ji An opened his eyes, he carefully placed the tray on the table and said kindly:
"Senior, there are a total of twenty kinds of spirit seeds, and the quantities are exactly as you instructed. Please take a look."

Ji An had never seen the seeds of many medicinal herbs before, so he couldn't tell them apart, which was why he came to the largest pharmacy.

The quality of goods in such places is more reliable than in small shops, but of course, they are also more expensive.

He checked it over and found the number to be correct, then he spoke:

"How much?"

"With just two high-grade spirit stones, these spirit seeds are extremely vigorous. As long as they can be planted in a suitable spirit field, the survival rate is at least 90%."

If not planted in a suitable spiritual field, it will most likely not survive and will wither quickly after sprouting.

Zhang Jun interjected, "Even the most precious spiritual plant shouldn't be this expensive if it's just a seed."

“The cultivators of the Divine Tree Sect would certainly not think that way. As long as they can get the seeds, they can cultivate the special spiritual plants of other continents.”

Our shop guarantees the quality of our spirit seeds, and our prices are transparent. We won't charge one person a high price and then switch the price to another. Two high-grade spirit stones, no bargaining.

“It’s really not cheap,” Ji An said without saying much, handing over two high-grade spirit stones.

Whoever sells the spirit seed only has one chance to earn spirit stones from them.

(End of this chapter)