Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 598 Effect Stacking
A moment later, the intelligent puppet came over carrying a teapot, poured out a cup of spiritual tea, which smelled delicious and was also warm.

As the fragrance was inhaled, Ji An felt the spiritual energy circulation within the Fire Element Divine Palace increase slightly.

"Alas, after all, it's only a low-grade third-level spiritual tea. For a cultivator like me at the third level of the Golden Core stage, it's not that effective."

He muttered to himself narcissistically that the feeling was much stronger when he first drank this spiritual tea back then.

Ji An picked up the teacup and saw that the tea soup was bright orange-red and very eye-catching, with a misty red steam rising up, like a beautiful haze.

He took a small sip, savoring the fragrance of the spiritual tea on his taste buds. He closed his eyes and swallowed the tea, feeling a fiery line slide down his throat, bringing warmth wherever it went.

"Not bad," Ji An praised, then tilted his head back and drank the spirit tea in one gulp, finishing the whole pot in one go.

He wasn't a refined person; he mostly drank tea in a guzzling manner.

For him, the effect of the tea was more important than its taste.

After taking out a Fire Immortal Apricot from the Void Stone and swallowing it, Ji An began to perform hand seals to release the Bing Fire Divine Thunder.

The most obvious effect of Spirit Tea and Immortal Apricot is that casting spells becomes smoother, and the casting time is significantly reduced, which is clear evidence of this.

Based on these results, it is clear that taking both Li Huo Xian Xing and Feng Wu Dan Xia Tea simultaneously does indeed have a synergistic effect.

If using the stone tortoise to enhance the Bing Fire Divine Thunder can reduce the consumption of spiritual energy when consuming both spiritual items simultaneously, that would be even better.

Crimson lightning reverberated within the small world, turning it a fiery color.

Hearing the roaring sound and feeling the lingering effects of the fire elemental energy spreading, the Azure Water Turtle fearfully dived to the bottom of the pond, venturing into the deeper mud, as only in this way could it lessen its fear.

The spell felt increasingly smooth as I cast it, and a mysterious feeling was brewing in my heart.

Ji An did not try to capture this feeling, because deliberately seeking it would only lead to failure. He simply quietly felt the magic power flowing through his body and the rhythm emanating from the Bing Fire and Ding Fire Dao Seeds.

A sense of emptiness filled his mind, and the profound feeling within him grew stronger, finally rising like a fiery dragon, with a flood of insights flowing through his heart.
[Spell: Bing Fire Divine Thunder (Perfection 67% → 86%)]

With the right timing, location, and people all in place, an epiphany followed. Ji An's eyes and lips were full of joy, which saved a lot of time.

After his magical power was half depleted, Ji An took out the medicinal mud, applied it, and began practicing the Immovable King Technique. When his physical strength was half depleted, he sat cross-legged under the Gathering Yuan Tree and circulated the Five Elements Wheel Sutra.

Now stationed at Wulan Mountain, he needs to be prepared to deal with any emergencies at any time, and he must retain at least half of his physical strength and magical power.

Otherwise, you'll be at a loss in an emergency, which would be troublesome.

Silent all night.

The next day at dawn, Ji An heard someone calling from outside the pavilion and opened the magic barrier.

A middle-aged cultivator dressed in a black Taoist robe walked in. He had a square face and looked very composed.

"Greetings, Master. I am Zhang Haoyang, the steward of Black Wind Ridge Fortress, responsible for coordinating resources. I have brought you the medicinal materials and talisman materials needed for today's refining."

He presented the storage bag and took out the materials inside. "Four batches of Vajra Pills, as well as materials for one hundred and fifty Purification Talismans and ten Stabilizing Talismans. Please check them, Master."

He quickly glanced at Ji An, then swiftly looked away and lowered his head. He hadn't expected the Merchant Alliance to send a Golden Core stage alchemist to help.

Alchemists at the Golden Core level have more important tasks, usually refining third-tier pills. Later, when they learned that the other party was a cultivator from another continent, everything made sense.

Ji An frowned slightly. "The workload every day is quite heavy. I'm afraid we'll have to fill all four hours."

Based on his understanding of other alchemists and talisman makers, these tasks would be barely manageable in four hours. It wasn't a matter of efficiency, but rather the depletion of spiritual energy was a major problem.

If the spiritual strength is not strong enough, other means must be used to make up for the consumed spiritual energy.

The good news is that both the Vajra Pill and the Purifying Spirit Talisman are second-tier resources, so the amount of spiritual energy he consumes when refining pills and making talismans is not much.

Zhang Haoyang scratched his head and smiled wryly, "We must increase our inventory of essential goods as much as possible."

Ji An was not satisfied with this answer. "Were there alchemists and talisman makers in the camp before?"

"Uh, no. In the past, all kinds of resources were sent from the main fortress. Now there are no finished pills or talismans, so we need seniors to refine them."

There's one thing Zhang Haoyang didn't mention: if Black Wind Ridge has abundant resources of pills and talismans, it needs to provide aid to other fortresses.

When should the elixirs and talismans be handed over?

"I will come to collect it at the end of the 5-7 PM every day."

Ji An nodded solemnly, "Alright, in order to resist the calamity of the true demon, I am willing to take on more responsibility, but the workload is too large, and I need more time to complete the task."

That way, you don't need to come to pick it up tonight; you can take it with you when you deliver the medicine the next day.

"I will keep the protective barrier in the attic constantly active. Tell everyone else not to disturb me."

This task was clearly quite demanding, but it also gave him a reason to stay in the attic. In this way, unless a very urgent situation occurred, he could stay in the small world and enjoy the mid-grade third-tier spiritual vein.

Zhang Haoyang said in a low voice, "Okay, but I need to report to Master Yunyan."

“This is my request,” Ji An waved his hand, “I’m going to start refining pills.”

"I'll take my leave."

Ji An did not return to the small world, but instead stayed in the attic to refine pills and make talismans.

He calculated the time; it took him three and a half hours to complete the task. If he had refined pills and made talismans in the small world, the time would have been reduced.

Working near the Soul-Nourishing Wood allows one's spiritual consciousness to maintain a certain rate of recovery.

If it were any other early-stage Golden Core cultivator, it would take at least five hours to complete the task.

At the beginning of the hour of You (5-7 PM), Master Yunyan and Wan Jinru returned to the fortress together, followed by a group of low-ranking disciples, all of whom looked exhausted.

They set off at the end of the morning, patrolling the area for a whole day, encountering more than a dozen battles of varying sizes.

The combat team immediately gathered at the tower, counted the spoils of war, and registered them.

Materials can also be obtained after killing Yin Demons and Demon Lords. These materials cannot be used directly by cultivators, but after being purified through special means, they can be made into pills that nourish the soul.

The monsters in the Demon Cave are products of the Yin side of the world and possess Yin attributes. Purifying them of their malevolent energy makes them excellent materials, but only certain Nascent Soul factions possess the means of purification.

Master Yunyan commented on the team members' performance in battle and finally announced:

That concludes today's summary. Go back and think carefully about how we can handle a similar battle better if it happens again.

Also, everyone can rest for two days; now you have plenty of time to adjust!

Previously, the fortress patrol team consisted of only two small squads that rotated, and they were under high load for long periods of time, so they couldn't get enough rest even if they only had one day off.

"Haha, two days is definitely enough!"

The team members discussed leaving, leaving only two people inside the tower. Master Yunyan said:
"How does it feel to participate in a mission like this for the first time?"

Wan Jinru touched the stray hairs at her temples and replied:
"I enjoy fighting, and fighting against Yin Demons allows me to fight more freely. However, I am used to fighting alone or cooperating with cultivators of the same realm."

If I were to command a small squad, I might not be able to command it well.

"In that case, you need to make adjustments as soon as possible. We cannot organize a patrol team at the Golden Core level."

The captain's responsibility is not just about fighting. We must take overall control, anticipate the enemy's moves, minimize casualties among team members, and ensure that the team can carry out missions stably in the long term.

If you need any help, feel free to ask me anytime.

Master Yunyan usually oversees the fortress and only personally carries out patrol missions on rare occasions. "I will."

Just then, Zhang Haoyang poked his head in, and was spotted by Master Yunyan.

"What's up? You've been acting suspiciously today!"

Zhang Haoyang walked into the tower and smiled:

"You're joking, sir. I have something to report to you openly and honestly, so why does it seem like I'm being sneaky?"

Wan Jinru interjected, "I'll go back and think about how to command. I'll take my leave now."

"Goodbye."

Master Yunyan waved his hand, and after Wan Jinru left, he said:
"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"It's about Master Xuanqing. He requires that yesterday's tasks be submitted again at Chenshi (7-9 AM) every day, and he also requires that we not disturb him."

Master Yunyan nodded. "That's fine. His task is quite demanding, and it will take him a lot of time each day to complete."

However, the pills he refined and the talismans he drew had to be given to the patrol team members immediately for practical effect testing.

She believed that the Merchant Alliance had sent a sufficiently excellent alchemist, but while she believed it, she still needed to conduct a rigorous examination.

"Understood. I will find a few people to test them after the fellow Daoists who participated in the patrol return tomorrow."

"Yes, let me know the results as soon as possible."

The patrol team returned at the beginning of the 7 PM on the second day.

After the battle meeting ended, Zhang Haoyang walked in and said, "Reporting to the Master, we need the team members to cooperate in a test."

A sorcerer has arrived at the camp; he's also a talisman maker. Since this is our first collaboration, we need to assess his skills.

Master Moyun became interested and said:

"What kinds of pills and talismans will be tested? How many people are needed?"

If an alchemist is skilled enough, it's worth befriending them; they might be able to help you someday.

In the past, how could alchemists possibly have come to the front lines of battle?

"Testing the Vajra Pill and the Purifying Talisman are commonly used supplies, and it will take twelve people."

The Mind-Stabilizing Talisman is a third-tier talisman, so using it for testing would be too wasteful. If the Mind-Cleansing Talisman works without issue, it won't be tested.

"So many people," Master Moyun muttered to himself, pointing out some names. "You few stay for the test, the rest of you can leave."

"Master, let everyone stay and take a look. I heard that the alchemist who came is also a Master."

Previously, the supplies we received were provided by cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage. Everyone wanted to see what the quality of the pills would be like if a true cultivator were to produce them.

"How can you feel the effects of the pills when they're in someone else's stomach!"

Master Moyun laughed and scolded, but he did not let the team members leave.

Zhang Haoyang then took out the pills and talismans and said:
"Of the six pills, three are of the finest quality, and the Purifying Spirit Talisman is of superior and medium quality."

He paused and sighed:

"Most of the talismans drawn by Master Xuanqing are of superior quality, which shows that his skills have reached an extremely high level."

He went to deliver materials in the morning, and the quantity of finished products submitted by the other party greatly surprised him. He was so surprised that he drooled, which was quite embarrassing.

As Zhang Haoyang distributed the pills and talismans to the test participants, he solemnly said:

"Everyone, please carefully observe how different these finished products are from what you use every day, and report back to me truthfully."

After taking the pills and activating the talismans, these people all showed expressions of surprise and delight, praising the pills one after another.

"The quality is excellent."

Zhang Haoyang maintained order and said:
"Alright, let's talk about them one by one, starting with the ordinary quality Vajra Pill."

One cultivator exclaimed excitedly, "The effect is 30% greater than the same grade pills I took before. I think a secret technique must have been used, otherwise there shouldn't be such a big difference."

"I also feel that way."

"Me too."

Zhang Haoyang continued to ask:
"How effective is the premium Vajra Pill?"

"The efficacy can be increased by 40%. I have studied alchemy before, and I feel that such a difference is impossible."

The materials used in alchemy are strictly selected for their quality. If the efficacy of the medicine fluctuates so much, it can only mean that there is a problem with the materials.

Inside the room, Zhang Haoyang excitedly gave his report, his cheeks flushed.

"Reporting to the True Man, yesterday I delivered 150 sets of materials for the Purifying Spirit Talisman and 10 sets for the Stabilizing Spirit Talisman, as well as materials for four batches of Vajra Pills, each batch of which can produce five pills."

Today, True Man Xuanqing handed in one hundred and twenty purification talismans, one hundred of which were of superior quality and twenty of medium quality.

We handed over seven calming talismans, five of which were of superior quality and two of medium quality. The talismans were about 20% more effective than the ones in our inventory.

Sixteen Vajra Pills were submitted, thirteen of which were of superior quality, exceeding the quality of other pills of the same grade by thirty to forty percent.

Based on this calculation, our inventory will increase rapidly.

Master Yunyan frowned, and said in disbelief:
"The quality of these pills is 30-40% higher than others of the same grade? You're not kidding, are you?!"

She didn't know much about alchemy, but she had a few alchemist friends who knew it was impossible to do.

"I don't believe it either, but all the monks who participated in the test said so."

Judging from their appearance and color, these elixirs do indeed possess a greater spiritual quality.

Yunyan Zhenren still didn't believe it, and stretched out her delicate hand, saying:
Give me one fine elixir and one superior talisman.

She didn't believe that the quality of the pills was so good that it went against basic principles, and there was no reason for pills of the same quality to have such a big difference.

Zhang Haoran handed over the items and asked:

"Does the real person need to test it in person?"

"Yes, I will lead a patrol tomorrow, hoping to encounter powerful prey."

Zhang Haoran tentatively asked:

"What if it really works that well?"

Yunyan Zhenren smiled, like a blooming lotus flower.

"That's fantastic news! It means we have more confidence to fight."

Many things can undergo dramatic changes in effect once a certain critical point is reached. Hopefully, the Golden Elixir will also have this characteristic.

(End of this chapter)