Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 623: Hitting the Wall

The next day.

Ji An and Xuanmu Zhenren sat comfortably in their cave dwelling, with puppets serving them on either side.

The two savored the spiritual tea and shared their cultivation experiences.

Outside the cave, a dozen or so cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage, dressed in the uniforms of the Golden Puppet Pavilion, were cutting spirit wood with a saw-like spiritual tool, accompanied by the continuous roar of dragons.

A cultivator transmitted his voice to a friend:
"Such spiritual Azure Dragon Wood, so many of them, could it be that the predecessors inside were cultivators from the Divine Wood Sect?"

That doesn't make sense either; very few Shenmu Sect cultivators who are away from home are spirit farmers.

"Just focus on your work. Who cares what kind of cultivator he is? Completing the puppet-making task won't give us an extra spirit stone."

These cultivators were very efficient; they cut down all the Azure Dragon Trees in just over an hour.

A burly disciple entered the cave and said in a deep, booming voice:

"Master, all the Azure Dragon Wood has been loaded into the flying boat, and we are ready to depart at any time."

Master Xuanmu nodded, took out several jade slips, and said:
"I need to transport this batch of spirit wood back to the sect as soon as possible. I'll invite you to a gathering in the Immortal City another day."

"Fellow Daoist, please examine these refining methods. If there are no problems, I will prepare to depart."

Ji An took the jade slip and quickly looked it over. The method was very detailed, explaining everything from material selection and inscription of magical prohibitions. It even included how to handle common problems and how to repair vulnerable parts of the puppet.

In his layman's opinion, the Golden Puppet Sect lives up to its reputation.

He coughed and said:
"Actually, I don't know much about puppet making. If I can't make a puppet using this method, I request your sect to provide guidance."

"Of course, we are willing to pay a guidance fee."

Although I don't think the other party would come up with an incorrect refining method, I still need to make them responsible for after-sales service.

"No problem," Master Xuanmu readily agreed, as long as it wasn't free, he was willing to earn spirit stones for crafting puppets or for guiding the crafting process.

He stood up, cupped his hands, and said:

"I'll take my leave now."

After seeing the other party off, Ji An looked at the tree stumps in the sunlight and gave the following instructions:

"Dig up all these tree roots and burn them when I get back."

As he spoke, he took out the magical tools used for digging and gave a demonstration.

The puppet took the magical artifact, nodded, and walked to the far corner to silently begin its work.

Ji An returned to his cave dwelling and hung the storage bag containing the third-grade spirit sand on his body. The quality of the spirit sand ranged from low-grade to high-grade of the third grade.

They stepped out of the area covered by the magic array, broke the seal, and then rode away on a cloud.

The puppet looked up at the receding crimson spirit cloud, then continued working with its head down.

Inside the cave, Lin Jiuxiao brought out a pot of spiritual tea and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"My conditions here are rather simple, please don't mind, senior brother."

The only thing served here is spiritual tea; there's nothing else of note.

"It's alright, we're fellow disciples, there's no need to concern ourselves with such formalities."

Ji An took out some fennel beans, peanuts and other food from the cave stone, and also took out several jars of spirit wine. "Junior Brother, keep these for your use."

He pointed outside the cave and said:

"It's a shame to leave these spirit fields outside barren. Why don't I plant some Azure Dragon Wood? When it's time to cast a spell on the spirit fields, I'll come over. The harvest will be enough to pay the rent for my cave dwelling."

The spiritual fields outside the other party's cave were slightly less than his, but still about eight acres.

The spell is performed once every two weeks, and including the travel time, it only takes a little over half an hour to complete.

“Sure, all the spirit stones we collect will go to you, Senior Brother. If you hadn’t come today, I was planning to talk to you about it.”

"I'll be leaving in about twenty years. Is it possible to cultivate a third-tier plant from the Azure Dragon Wood?"

"I don't know, but it's possible."

Let me tell you about the future. I think the sect should send cultivators to the Central Continent regularly. Firstly, it can help us understand the situation here and identify our shortcomings. Secondly, it can help us learn about the True Demon Tribulation.

The sect is in a phase of rapid development, and should take the Nascent Soul sects here as its benchmark, rather than limiting its sights to the Western Continent.

After you leave, I will renew the lease on the cave for another two years. Please convey my views to the sect leader.

If he agrees, he will send someone himself. If no one accompanies the merchant ship back to Central Continent, I will then return the cave dwelling to him.

In Ji An's view, the sect should not be satisfied with becoming the overlord of the Western Continent, because the Western Continent is too weak and has no forces at the Nascent Soul level.

Without a true ruler in charge, there is no voice from the higher-ups.

"I will make a statement to my senior brother, the sect leader."

Lin Jiuxiao nodded solemnly. He hadn't spent much time in the Immortal City, but he had witnessed its prosperity.

Although I have never seen a Nascent Soul True Monarch, I have seen that the people in charge of the large shops are all Golden Core cultivators.

In the Western Continent, a Golden Core cultivator is already the patriarch of a powerful force, so how could he possibly show his face and work in a shop!
But this is quite common in Middle-earth.

He had made a serious comparison in private and came to the conclusion that if sects were placed in the Central Continent, they could only be considered third-rate forces.

A Nascent Soul sect is a first-rate power. A power with several late-stage Golden Core cultivators can only be considered second-rate. A power with only a few mid-stage or early-stage Golden Core cultivators is only third-rate!

Ji An nodded. "I have prepared a gift for the sect, which I will give to you when you return to Xizhou."

He prepared too many things; most of them wouldn't immediately increase the sect's strength, but they would greatly enhance its foundation. He then changed the subject, saying:
"Are you interested in finding something to do in Central Continent? It's not good to just cultivate every day."

"I have such a plan, but I don't have any cultivation skills, so I can only join a team to hunt demons."

Being accepted by others is not easy; you can only wait.

Lin Jiuxiao responded that the team was very cautious in accepting new members, and his status as a cultivator from another continent would cause many people to have concerns.

“I have a better way,” Ji An said, handing over a jade slip:

"This is the recipe for Transformation Divine Mud. You can purchase spiritual materials to prepare it. The process is not complicated and can be refined using earth fire."

"With the materials prepared, renting a fire chamber is all you need to start refining; it's much easier to accumulate resources than being an unstable member of a demon-hunting team."

If Jinrong Zhenren's research is released, the price of Huayuan Shenni will inevitably soar, allowing people to follow in the footsteps of Wanbaoge and enjoy a share of the profits.

Lin Jiuxiao took the jade slip and nodded, saying:

“No problem, I’ll go to the Immortal City to buy materials and refine the divine mud in my spare time.”

The sect possesses the recipe for Transforming Yuan Divine Mud, but he has no need for it and has never exchanged for it.

Ji An took off a bunch of storage bags from his body and said:

"This is a batch of Soul-Cleansing Sand I obtained. It's of extremely high quality. Please help me sell it."

However, you shouldn't sell it now. I've heard that the price of the Soul-Cleansing Sand will rise, and you can slowly release the goods then, in the name of the sect.

After it's done, I'll give half of the profits as a reward for my junior's hard work.

"I understand. It's just a small favor, nothing to ask for anything in return. Senior brother, you don't need to pay me."

What is "Huanling Sha"? I've never heard of it before.

"A kind of spiritual material, used to refine weapons or make cinnabar. I only knew it could be used to make cinnabar before, but I recently learned that it can be used to refine weapons."

The Western Continent was formed by small factions that migrated from the Central Continent. Their traditions and heritage are generally weak, and we have never heard of many of their spiritual objects or their uses.

Ji An explained it once, but he didn't know much about this kind of spiritual material either.

"You didn't know that Spirit Cleansing Sand is also produced in Crimson Flame Peak?"

Lin Jiuxiao scratched his head and said embarrassedly:

"I don't have a deep understanding of many things about Crimson Flame Peak."

He was only interested in cultivating and researching combat abilities, and knew little about other things.

Ji An didn't say much, and changed the subject:
"After obtaining the Transformation Divine Mud, don't rush to sell it. Sell it together with the Cleansing Spirit Sand later."

"clear."

Ji An took out a bag of Azure Dragon Wood seeds from the Void Stone, stood up and said:

"I will go and plant the abandoned spiritual fields."

He strode out, activated his object manipulation technique to scatter seeds, and then unleashed the Earth Vein Life Technique.

A warm, yellow aura gushed forth from the earth like a spring, and golden lotus patterns condensed on the soil surface, spreading the nourishing power of the earth element.

Ji An changed the hand seals in his hands, releasing the Azure Dragon Water Moon Technique.

The moon appeared, obscuring the sun's radiance within the area enveloped by the magic, leaving only the bright moonlight.

The Azure Dragon roared in the sky, and the Dharma power of the flourishing wood element permeated the air. Crystal-clear raindrops fell one after another, and the moistening atmosphere rose with the water mist.

The Azure Lotus Banner flew out from Ji An's dantian, transforming into a roaring azure dragon, its wood-elemental intent becoming even stronger.

Lin Jiuxiao could sense the intensity of the Dharma intent and thought to himself:
"No wonder the sect leader said that Crimson Flame Peak's production has decreased significantly since Senior Brother Ji left. The opponent's powerful level of magic far surpasses that of others."

The moon of the moon will disappear, just like the moon reflected in water; it will eventually vanish.

The mist quickly dissipated, and Lin Jiuxiao saw the sapling, which was over three feet tall, gracefully stretching its body. He was amazed by the rapid growth of the spiritual plant.

Compared to his senior brother, the other spiritual farmers in the sect were far too weak.

A month passed.

The aroma of Enlightenment Tea permeated the reception room of the Golden Puppet Pavilion, filling every corner of the space.

Master Xuanji took out a jade bottle and said:
"I have successfully completed my mission and, at a considerable cost, finally obtained three Enlightenment Tree seeds."

To reiterate, tea trees have extremely demanding requirements regarding the soil's natural environment; if they are not grown in a suitable location, they will quickly degenerate.

He repeatedly informed everyone of this news to prevent any unnecessary trouble from arising later.

He has fulfilled his obligation to inform, and if the other party fails to stop the degeneration of the spiritual plant, he cannot be blamed at all.

Ji An, of course, understood what the other party was thinking, and smiled:

"Once the spirit seed is handed over to me, the success or failure of its cultivation is none of your business."

He took the jade bottle and poured the contents into his palm. He saw three oval-shaped, silver-gray seeds, each the size of an adult's finger bone, emitting a warm, spiritual light.

The surface of the spirit seed is covered with mysterious and ancient patterns.

Ji An probed his divine sense to feel the vitality of the spiritual seed and found that it had indeed reached the third-order top-grade level.

He took out the remaining two hundred high-grade spirit stones and placed them on the table, smiling gently:
"Thank you, fellow Daoist. I am aware of the Enlightenment Tree, but I will not be satisfied until I have planted it once."

Master Xuanji nodded. Who hasn't hit a wall a few times when they were young?
　I typed too slowly and didn't post it in time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)