Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 626 Fellow Daoist, you've broken through to a higher realm?
Zhenyue Zhenren thought for a moment, then returned the spirit peach and said in a deep voice:
"I won't say any more polite words. These two dragon blood fruits should be of better use, so we'll accept them without hesitation."

He wasn't an alchemist, but because of his cousin's situation, he had studied the properties and pharmacology of medicines and knew that fire-attribute spiritual herbs and fruits that replenish qi and blood would also be helpful for his cousin's condition.

However, these kinds of spiritual plants are mainly used by body-refining cultivators, and are rarely cultivated in sects.

He planned to search for pill formulas when he returned; as long as they weren't secret sect recipes, he could exchange them for them.

If possible, he would like to come to Blackstone Mountain again and give it to Ji An to refine.

Reporting this to the elders would be a good idea, as the purpose is quite legitimate. If my cousin breaks through to the Nascent Soul level, the sect will also benefit.

He was just one step away from the Nascent Soul stage. After a hundred years of fighting in the East Sea, his Dao heart had become as hard as iron. He was just waiting for an opportunity to nurture his soul infant within his golden core.

The sect will still grant you the courtesy of giving away non-secret pill formulas.

"If you need any alchemy in the future, just let me know,"

Ji An smiled and said that refining more high-level pills would be very beneficial for honing one's skills.

The Thunder-Struck Spirit Peach is extremely effective for Hua Yin Zhenren's condition, but it cannot be swallowed directly.

Lei Guo is extremely yang and strong, and its medicinal properties must be balanced before it can be taken. Otherwise, the body of a patient suffering from a cold disease will become a battlefield, which may cause a violent conflict.

He has too many good things whose origins he cannot explain, and he lacks the confidence to reveal them. This situation may change when he achieves the Nascent Soul stage in the future.

"Haha, as long as you don't mind us bothering you."

Now that the Three Yang Meridian Opening Pill has been refined, we should return to our sect.

Tomorrow at noon I will be hosting a banquet at Dingxiang Pavilion in the Immortal City. I would greatly appreciate your presence, fellow Daoist.

Zhenyue Zhenren spoke politely, his arrogance hidden deep within him, and he rarely mentioned inviting anyone to a banquet.

His cousin had just described the effects of the pills via telepathy, and he was truly grateful that the other party could help refine higher-quality pills to alleviate her pain.

The effects of the elixir could last for a period of time, which was a great opportunity for my cousin to improve her cultivation, which is why they were in a hurry to go back.

"I should be the one seeing you off."

"Haha, it's settled then."

The group continued chatting, and Ji An asked:
"Fellow Daoist, how is the current situation of Misty Mountain compared to when I left?"

Zhenyue Zhenren said in a deep voice:
"The concentration of the demonic mist has increased slightly, and its polluting properties have become stronger. Fortunately, the number of high-level true demons and demon lords has not increased significantly."

The cultivation world has now mobilized, and the situation is under control; there is no need to worry.

I estimate things will remain stable like this until a true demon at the Nascent Soul level appears.

Taking Black Wind Ridge Fortress as an example, when he left, there were three late-stage Golden Core cultivators stationed there.

Then a late-stage Golden Core True Demon crossed over to this place, intending to use it as a hunting ground, but ended up becoming prey and being surrounded and killed.

The Golden Puppet Pavilion deployed a large number of flying puppets to completely monitor the area within dozens of miles of the fortress, leaving the true demon nowhere to hide.

Ji An smiled more broadly, "That's good, then we'll have more time to improve our cultivation."

When a great calamity erupts, cultivation level is the greatest source of confidence.

Unless they are surrounded and killed by a large number of True Demons of the same realm, True Monarchs in the late Nascent Soul stage should have much less fear of the Great Tribulation. It might even be an opportunity for them to improve.

Zhenyue Zhenren laughed heartily, “Even without the Tribulation of the True Demon, cultivation is still our greatest source of confidence.”

No sooner had Zhenyue Zhenren left than Black Stone Mountain welcomed another guest.

Inside the cave, Lin Jiuxiao took out a storage bag and said in a deep voice:
"Senior brother, the profits from selling resources were used to purchase the relevant medicinal materials as you instructed. However, the premium on spiritual herbs is very high, and I don't think it's much cheaper than buying pills."

In recent months, the prices of Transformation Spirit Mud and Cleansing Spirit Sand have skyrocketed. He witnessed the speed at which the other party earned spirit stones; even describing it as picking up spirit stones wouldn't be enough.

Ji An took the storage bag and asked:

“Each herbal medicine shop has a cooperating alchemist. The spiritual herbs are converted into pill prices and sold. High-grade spiritual herbs are scarce, which is unavoidable. How many batches of herbs have you acquired?”

The purple cloud fruit in the gourd world will mature in a few decades, but other medicinal materials are lacking.

The Purple Cloud Tree bears twelve fruits, which means that the Purple Cloud Jade Mushroom Pill, which contains three pills, can be refined into twelve batches.

There are only eight portions.

Ji An inspected the quality of the elixir and smiled:
"That's not bad either. We'll continue making acquisitions in the future."

Eight batches of medicinal herbs should be enough to refine more than a dozen Purple Cloud Jade Mushroom Pills.

The cataclysm of the true demons is about to erupt.

"I'm afraid that won't be easy."

Lin Jiuxiao shook his head and said regretfully:

"The price of spiritual items related to the Transformation Divine Mud has also started to soar, and even so, they are very difficult to buy. We can only rely on selling third-grade Cleansing Sand, but the spiritual sand you gave me only has a few high-grade third-grade ones left."

He lost a source of income and was quite reluctant to let it go, but there was nothing he could do.

Ji An took out several bags from the Void Stone and said:
"The market reacted so quickly. Take these third-grade low-level Cleansing Spirit Sand and sell them. This is my last stock. Make your move when the time is right."

He estimated that using the third-grade superior-level Cleansing Sand on the Yin Pearl was too extravagant, so no force was willing to buy it.

In the past two years, the spiritual veins of the Calabash World have improved, the population of Spirit Devouring Insects has expanded considerably, and the production of third-grade low-level Cleansing Sand has reached over a thousand catties.

He was willing to trust his fellow disciples, but he dared not recklessly and continuously use the Cleansing Spirit Sand.

He will need to find something to conceal soul fluctuations and sell the spirit sand himself.

In a sense, his current actions can be described as profiting from the war. Once the True Demon Tribulation ends, the price of the Cleansing Sand will inevitably drop significantly.

After chatting with his fellow disciples about the current situation for a while, Lin Jiuxiao took his leave.

Ji An instructed his beasts to guard the cave, and then entered the gourd world. He immediately felt refreshed, as the difference between a high-grade third-tier spiritual vein and a mid-grade spiritual vein was quite significant.

The three magical banners flew out of the dantian, leaving only the Blazing Sun Furnace floating in the Yuanming Fire.

With the improvement in cultivation level and the daily tempering with the Gold Melting Divine Fire Technique, the Yuanming Fire is more than 20% stronger than when it was at the third level of the Golden Core stage, and it can nurture four magic treasures at the same time without any pressure.

Ji An strolled over to the lush Enlightenment Tree, observed it for a while, and gently shook his head:
"It's a bit slow."

These three spirit trees are only at the second-tier low-grade level, with no signs of improvement in grade.

Having been planted for two years, in such an environment, other spiritual plants would at least reach the mid-grade level of the second tier, and perhaps even the high-grade level of the second tier.

However, Ji An was not in a hurry; slow growth meant great potential.

He had always had a question that remained unanswered: whether the reason the spiritual plants were able to thrive in the small world was due to the Gathering Yuan Tree or because the small world itself was special. The gourd world originally had no possibility of developing into a small world; it was the stone tortoise that gradually transformed it using spiritual energy and the Dao seed.

If asked which is more mystical, the stone tortoise or the Gathering Yuan Tree, Ji An would choose the stone tortoise without hesitation.

He once considered digging out the soil from the small world to conduct an experiment, but fearing that it would reveal the secrets of heaven, he never did so.

He will conduct tests at Crimson Flame Peak when he returns to the Western Continent one day.

Two months have passed, and the Central Plains are showing signs of desolation.

Autumn has arrived, and yellow leaves are piling up. Areas outside the range of the magic array are showing obvious signs of decay. With the Immortal City's protective mountain array as the boundary, the same world seems like two different worlds.

Each protective mountain formation restrains a spiritual vein, making the spiritual energy in mortal lands extremely shallow.

Inside the cave, Ji An used his object manipulation technique to send out a cup of Cloud Peak Silver Tea, and said with a smile:

"Fellow Daoist, you've been away from the Immortal City for quite some time now; it's been two years."

Wan Jinrong smiled gently and said:
"There are important family matters that require my assistance, so I've been staying at Ziyang Mountain for a while longer."

Wanbaoge is currently processing Yin Thunder Pearls for various Nascent Soul forces, but only Wan family direct lineage weapon refiners are involved so far.

As a high-level weapon refiner, one should naturally participate in the refining of the Yin Thunder Pearl.

He had witnessed the power of the Yin Thunder Pearl's explosion and understood that, based on the current situation, the cultivation world would have the strength to fight the True Demons after the True Demon Tribulation fully erupted, at least in terms of firepower at the Golden Core level.

After taking a sip of the spiritual tea, he said again:

"As soon as I returned to Wanbaoge, I heard from Steward Wu that I had dealt with the backlog of matters and then rushed to Black Stone Mountain. I wonder what advice you have for me?"

Ji An waved his hand gently, "I dare not accept your instruction, I can only say I am asking for your guidance."

"I was able to obtain a third-tier Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd from the sect. I would like to ask if it is possible to refine a magic weapon that can be nurtured using earth fire."

Wan Jinrong immediately became interested and said:
"The third-tier Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd is quite rare. Fellow Daoist, you are very lucky to have obtained it. You only need to add a small amount of third-tier spiritual materials to refine it into a magic weapon."

If you're lucky, you might be able to refine a mid-grade third-tier magic weapon.

However, magical artifacts are best nurtured with a cultivator's life-force fire to achieve a connection with the cultivator's will. Earth fire can only maintain its power from deterioration, but it cannot replace life-force fire.

"The crafting of gourd-type magic weapons is relatively simple, but there is a limitation: only auxiliary magic weapons can be crafted."

Although we can use magical artifacts to store fire to attack enemies, it is essentially still a support-type attack.

Gourd-type magical artifacts are mainly divided into two categories: one is used to nurture flames, or the gourd and the flame inside are used as a carrier to nurture other fire-attribute spiritual objects. Gourds of the wood and fire elements can be used as materials.

Another type is used to hold spiritual water, which evolves the water cycle within the magic treasure to nurture the essence of Ren water. If the magic treasure is fortunate enough to be upgraded to the level of a spiritual treasure, it can be used to nurture primordial heavy water.

However, these two magical weapons are not good at dealing with very agile single enemies. They are suitable for dealing with large numbers of low-level enemies. They are a good choice for guarding the mountain gate after the outbreak of the True Demon Calamity.

Ji An chuckled self-deprecatingly, "So that's how it is. I even dreamed of creating a magical artifact that didn't need nurturing."

If he could truly create a gourd-shaped magical artifact that didn't require nurturing, he could cultivate hundreds or even thousands of third-tier gourds using his small world.

In that case, there would be no need to personally take action against enemies at the Golden Core level; just imagining that scene is wonderful.

Wan Jinrong's expression turned serious, and he advised:
“Even unclaimed spiritual fire can nurture magical treasures. There is a record in our clan’s records that a certain cultivator used spiritual fire to nurture a magical treasure with even greater power.”

As a result, the spirituality of the magic weapon was altered by the influence of the heavenly fire, and the cultivator's dantian was damaged during the process of subduing the magic weapon.

It is better not to nurture a magical artifact than to allow it to be contaminated by the energy of other spiritual substances.

Even without nurturing, a magical artifact's power can be maintained for a long time, only it cannot be increased. However, if it is exposed to external energy for a long time, no one knows what kind of strange changes it will cause.

"Is there such a thing?"

Ji An was startled and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Thank you for informing me, fellow Daoist."

In my sect, there is a senior brother who used the second-tier Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd as material to refine spiritual weapons, and he also refined several fire-elemental spiritual weapons and placed them in the gourd to nurture them.

If the gourd were refined into a magical artifact, could it achieve the same result?

Zhang Zizhao, the former head of the Diligent Work Hall, did just that, and he greatly admired him back then.

"Yes, that's possible. This is also the mainstream practice in the cultivation world for refining gourd magic treasures. Nurturing a gourd magic treasure indirectly nurtures another magic treasure."

However, there is a requirement: the spirituality of a magic weapon far exceeds that of a magical artifact, so the grade of the gourd magic weapon must be higher than or equal to that of a magic weapon that has been nurtured.

Moreover, the number of magical treasures that can be nurtured is limited; generally speaking, only one can be nurtured. Do you currently possess a third-tier gourd?

If so, Wan Jinrong is willing to help refine it.

Ji An shook his head and replied:

"There aren't any now, but in thirty years when the sect sends fellow disciples, they will bring a few."

This is also one of the reasons why he asked Lin Jiuxiao to take a message back: only by maintaining contact with the Central Continent can the resources produced in the Calabash World have a legitimate reason to be presented.

Otherwise, the vast resources he controls can only be kept secret by going through the black market.

Or they might run a medicine shop, but even if they did, they wouldn't dare to ship out large quantities of medicine.

"Alright, if I get the third-tier Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd, I hope you can sell it to me. I really want to own a gourd magic weapon of my own."

The family possesses several third-tier gourd-shaped magical artifacts, but those belong to the family as "common property," and he cannot keep them in his possession at all times.

Ji An readily agreed:

"No problem, I will also entrust you to refine it. I just hope that it can be a mid-grade third-tier magic weapon."

The two chatted, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Wan Jinrong coughed a few times and said in a deep voice:
"Fellow Daoist, you assisted in killing a True Demon in the late Golden Core stage at Misty Mountain. I wonder if you have any plans to sell the materials?"

The materials left behind by the true demon are the most solid parts of his body, which can be used to enhance the toughness of certain magical artifacts.

Ji An pondered. The materials he obtained were of high quality, but keeping them was not very useful. It would be better to exchange them for urgently needed items.

With the Gourd World at your disposal, you'll have access to Tier 3 high-grade and top-grade resources in the future. Holding onto True Demon Materials won't generate any value.

"I am willing to sell materials, but I only accept pills or elixirs. You can exchange them for Purple Cloud Jade Mushroom Pills or the main ingredients for making such pills."

Wan Jinrong remained silent. He reached up and scratched his hair, his tone unconsciously softening:
"Fellow Daoist has already broken through to a higher realm?"

If the other party hasn't broken through, why would they specifically ask for the Purple Cloud Jade Mushroom Pill? This is one of the most suitable pills for mid-stage Golden Core cultivators.

(End of this chapter)