Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 255 [Pigpen: lv4 (Upgradeable)]

You came out so quickly?

Ji Yuan stepped forward calmly, a helpless smile on his face.

"It's already a blessing to have survived by sheer luck, how could I dare to talk about any kind of luck?"

"It was a lucky fluke."

Ji Yuan shook his head with a wry smile.

Upon seeing this, the old man of ice and fire, dressed in a fiery red dragon robe, couldn't help but recall the events of the past. The joy on his face faded slightly, and he sighed:

Indeed, those who haven't experienced life and death cannot understand the feelings involved.

"Just like how no one understood me back then, now it's all good. Finally, there's someone who has gone through life and death with me."

"Then wouldn't that mean I'm on the same path as you, senior?"

Ji Yuan tentatively said.

The Ice and Fire Elder chuckled, "Let alone fellow practitioners, these are all like-minded friends. Come, come, my dear nephew, come with me. We should have a good drink together."

After saying this, the Ice and Fire Elder once again took Ji Yuan with him, and the two flew together toward the palace.

By the time they arrived at the palace, it was already bright outside.

At the emperor's command, the entire palace immediately came to life, with female cultivators bustling about everywhere.

Ji Yuan chatted with this Golden Core cultivator for a while, and soon fine wine and dishes were served like a continuous feast, each containing abundant spiritual energy.

"Come, my dear nephew, let's drink to our hearts' content!"

The old man of ice and fire, holding a bronze wine cup, laughed loudly.

Ji Yuan raised his glass and clinked it against his in the air, then downed it in one gulp... Hmm, the quality of the wine was indeed quite good, better than most of the wines Ji Yuan had ever drunk.

If I bring some back to my master, she would probably like it.

With the thought of showing respect to his master in mind, Ji Yuan began to feast.

So the banquet lasted from morning until noon. Ji Yuan patted his round belly, realizing that even if he ate and refined at the same time, there wasn't enough time.

The old man of ice and fire then smiled and had the women remove the banquet.

Upon seeing this, Ji Yuan's eyes flickered slightly, and an idea formed in his mind.

He stood up from his seat, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior, I have a question to ask you."

"Oh? What is it that you need to ask me, my dear nephew?"

The old man of ice and fire chuckled, straightening up from his reclining position on the dragon throne. With a flick of his sleeve, he said, "Nephew, please speak freely."

"Recently, the demonic forces have invaded Shangxi, and our Li family is preparing to refine a batch of pills, but we are missing the spine of the Three-Eyed Dark Beast... This is really hard to find. In the end, Brother Changhe said that the senior had once killed a Three-Eyed Dark Beast."

"So the family asked me to ask the elders when I came here this time."

After Ji Yuan finished speaking, he looked very seriously at the old man in front of him, who was like ice and fire.

The latter's expression also became much more serious.

"The Three-Eyed Dark Beast... I did indeed slay one back then. I wonder how many spines your Li family needs?"

"Not many, three will do."

Ji Yuan hurriedly said.

"I still have three. The Three-Eyed Dark Beast is a treasure trove, and I've used quite a few over the years..."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan finally felt relieved.

"That's fine. My family gave me quite a few spirit stones for this trip, and I came here specifically to make a deal with you, senior."

This is basically a blatant statement; it's not a demand, but rather a purchase with spirit stones.

As expected, upon hearing this, the old man's previously troubled expression immediately relaxed.

"Talking about spirit stones is too formal. Here, this is the spine of the Three-Eyed Dark Beast. Take a good look, my dear nephew."

After the old man of ice and fire finished speaking, he swept his right hand across the table, and three spines appeared in front of Ji Yuan.

Its shape looks similar to a human spine, but it is much larger, about the size of two fists.

It was completely black, and even just by placing it on a table, you could see wisps of black smoke swirling around the spine. With a little more perception, you could also feel the evil aura emanating from the spine.

"May I ask, senior, how much do these three spine bones cost?"

Although it was the first time Ji Yuan had ever seen this thing, he didn't suspect anything.

The Old Man of Ice and Fire wouldn't stoop to lying in a place like this.

"Why talk about spirit stones? If the Li family needs them, just take them!"

The old man of ice and fire waved his hand.

Ji Yuan watched as he raised his large hand, retracting two fingers and extending three, before tentatively asking, "How about 3000 mid-grade spirit stones?"

Ji Yuan remembered that the Li family only spent 9000 mid-grade spirit stones to buy the cub of the third-tier demon beast, the Winged Flying Tiger.

These three spines of third-tier demonic beasts are now priced at 3000 mid-grade spirit stones.

That's an astronomical price.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that three-eyed dark beasts are extremely rare.

"Ahem, deal."

The old man, who was supposed to be the emperor, seemed a little embarrassed. He first stroked his beard, and then blushed as he spoke.

Ji Yuan currently has over 26000 mid-grade spirit stones. Taking out 3000 of them to upgrade the [Pigpen] is entirely within his means.

He then paid with spirit stones, and the three spines were put into his storage bag.

One transaction is a transaction, and two transactions are also transactions.

So he spoke again, saying, "Senior, do you have any Fire Vein Spirit Essence? Our Li family traded with Medicine King Valley some time ago, but we're still short of it."

"We have plenty of this stuff. How much do you want, my dear nephew?"

Not to mention that the Ice and Fire Elder was a fire magic cultivator, he also controlled the entire Ice and Fire Island.

He also controls the fiery volcano on the island, so he truly has no shortage of fire vein essence.

"Not much, 5 jin is enough."

"Here, take it."

As soon as Ji Yuan finished speaking, a large jade box made of precious jade appeared beside him.

The lid of the jade box was open, and inside was half a box containing something that looked like lava.

But it's not quite the same as magma.

This is because the Fire Vein Essence contains abundant spiritual energy, and its color is a mix of crimson and pale green.

"This thing looks perfect for fire-based cultivators."

Ji Yuan muttered to himself, then asked, "How much is this worth?"

"There's no need for spirit stones then, my dear nephew, just take it."

The old man of ice and fire repeated the same words.

Ji Yuan was still thinking of giving some, but the Ice and Fire Elder frowned and preemptively said, "Nephew, do you perhaps look down on me?"

"No, no, thank you very much, senior."

Having said all that, Ji Yuan naturally couldn't give them any more money.

It's likely that he earned a lot of spirit stones from the spine of this three-eyed dark beast, so he was too embarrassed to charge for the Fire Vein Spirit Marrow.

But no matter what, as long as I get the stuff, that's fine.

When Ji Yuan put away the Fire Vein Essence, he also took a look at the panel.

Pigpen: lv4 (upgradeable)

Become!

It's finally done!

Once the pigpen reaches level 4, you can try to comprehend the body cultivation technique "Nine Revolutions of Profound Yang".

Then your physique will be able to continue to improve.

"call--"

Ji Yuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing this, the old man of ice and fire couldn't help but chuckle, "Nephew, are you under so much pressure? You're even having to breathe heavily."

Ji Yuan smiled and said, "There's no other way. Before I left this time, my family repeatedly told me to complete these tasks. Now, thanks to the help of my senior, I have finally succeeded. I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief."

"Haha, you little rascal."

The old man with ice and fire pointed at him, unable to suppress a laugh.

At the same time, Ji Yuan was also thinking that if the [Pigpen] could be upgraded, then the purpose of his trip to Icefire Island would basically be achieved.

There were even some unexpected gains.

They obtained the Eye of Truth, whose origins were unknown but whose power seemed extremely strong.

It also converted its own spiritual energy into ice-type spiritual energy.

The purpose of coming to Icefire Island has been achieved, but the only remaining goal of this trip is to refine the "Thunderstrike Sword".

This requires further study of the "Sword Manual" and cannot be rushed.

So for the rest of the day, Ji Yuan didn't go anywhere but stayed in the palace to rest, while pondering the newly acquired Eye of Truth.

No matter how much they pondered it, they couldn't figure it out because of a lack of practical experience.

The next day, he suggested to the Ice and Fire Elder that since he had come out for the first time, he should take a look around Ice and Fire Island.

The old man with ice and fire even kindly asked if he wanted help leading the way, since he had nothing better to do anyway.

Ji Yuan felt that he did not yet have the strength to have a late-stage Golden Core cultivator as his guide, so he politely declined the suggestion.

After emerging from the valley, he piloted the Wind-Locust Flying Boat straight to the highest point of Icefire Island, which is the crater of the Fiery Volcano.

The mountain wind was scorching hot on the way to the summit.

The temperature only dropped after the flying boat soared above the clouds, and a thick layer of ice and snow covered the crater in front of Ji Yuan.

But just as we were getting close to the crater, the ice and snow melted, revealing the dark rocks.

Ji Yuan swept his divine sense across the entire mountain and found that there were about a dozen cultivators enjoying the scenery, the most powerful of whom was only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

After thinking for a moment, he piloted the flying boat and hovered in mid-air, then a thought struck him.

"Insightful Divine Eye, activate!"

In an instant, a purple vertical line appeared between his eyebrows, with tiny sparkles of starlight on it. Then, the line opened up instantly, and a purple vertical eye emerged from it, moving slightly from side to side as it surveyed the surrounding scenery.

Ji Yuan's field of vision changed accordingly, with a hazy layer of vision appearing in addition to his normal field of vision.

At this moment, in his field of vision, the entire crater had turned gray, with only a few scattered white lights appearing on the mountainside.

That was the cultivator that Ji Yuan discovered with his divine sense.

In addition... at the northwest corner of this crater, there is a rock as tall as a person that is also emitting white light.

Why is that?

Ji Yuan glanced at the stone without making a sound, and his first thought was naturally... treasure!

The fact that the stone could glow under the Eye of Truth meant that it contained abundant spiritual energy, so it was most likely a treasure.

With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan first retracted the vertical eye between his brows, and then the flying boat descended, arriving at the crater of the Fiery Volcano.

He stood on the south side of the crater, and looking out, he couldn't see what lay to the north.

The rising heat, combined with the cold air above the clouds, converged here, forming a cloud of mist like a ribbon, making it impossible to see clearly.

As for the size of this crater... Ji Yuan estimated that it was no smaller than Mirror Lake, which he had seen before.

"Damn it, if such a volcano were to erupt completely, how powerful would it be? Even Nascent Soul cultivators would probably have to avoid its brunt."

Unable to fathom the truth, Ji Yuan could only fantasize about it in his mind.

He then took a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the crater, and looked down.

Looking down, one sees a churning, boiling lava pool below. Unlike the fiery pool that Ji Yuan had seen in the Ice and Fire Pool, this was real lava.

Or rather, it's a lava lake.

It was only when Ji Yuan arrived at this point and looked down that he discovered that there were actually cultivators practicing inside the cliffs on the inner side of the crater.

Most of them were fire-based cultivators.

For ice-type cultivators like Ji Yuan, this is actually quite uncomfortable, like having thorns in their backs.

If it weren't for the desire to witness the grandeur of the cultivation world, he wouldn't have been willing to come to this volcano. After he had truly seen it, he summoned the Wind Locust Flying Boat again and circled the volcano, stopping and starting as he went. Inadvertently, he ended up next to the giant rock he had seen in mid-air earlier.

Ji Yuan first released his divine sense to perceive his surroundings, making sure that no one was paying attention to him. Only then did he pretend to lean against the boulder for three breaths.

Then the boulder disappeared.

He leaped back onto the flying boat and left the place silently.

The valley where the Ice and Fire Elder resides is to the west of the Fiery Volcano, while the Ice and Fire Market on Ice and Fire Island is to the east of the Fiery Volcano.

After crossing the Fiery Volcano, Ji Yuan strolled around this market town.

Although it's called a market town, its area is actually about the same size as some small towns within the Water Dragon Sect's territory, and the lowest cultivation level in this market town is at least late-stage Qi Refining.

Of course, the largest number of people are those in the late stage of Qi Refining.

Ji Yuan estimates that there are probably dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Firstly, the spiritual energy on Icefire Island is inherently more abundant than that on the mainland.

Secondly, because Icefire Island is far from the mainland, it is a rare secluded place.

Ji Yuan didn't buy anything from the market, because the prices here were 20% higher than in Nanhai City... at least 20%.

He didn't buy them, but he sold some to several shops.

Most of the pills and talismans were given to him by the Mourning Hermit and Luo Sifu.

Of course, selling things was just a pretext; his real intention was to take the opportunity to gather information, such as what procedures were required to settle on the island, the rent in the market, or suitable places to open a cave dwelling outside.

Ji Yuan himself planned to comprehend the next sword embryo here before heading north back to the Water Dragon Sect.

When choosing between Icefire Island and South Sea City, the two secluded training grounds, Ji Yuan naturally chose Icefire Island, which had a powerful backer. On this island, as long as the Icefire Elder was still alive, he had no taboos.

As for why he didn't want to seclude himself in the valley of the Ice and Fire Elder, it was because Ji Yuan needed to upgrade the [Pigpen].

When we upgraded the [Pigpen] to level 3, some unusual phenomena occurred.

Now that the Pigpen has been upgraded to level 4, even if Ji Yuan shuts down the anomaly the moment he upgrades, there will likely still be some disturbance.

It might fool the Foundation Establishment cultivators nearby, but it definitely won't fool the Ice and Fire Elder, who is in the late Golden Core stage.

Not to mention that he was constantly under the influence of his formation.

Ji Yuan pondered as he listened to the introduction of "Manager Zhou" in front of him.

After he finished his introduction, Ji Yuan made up his mind.

There are no restrictions on opening a cave dwelling, so naturally, one can open one's own cave dwelling outside. Most cultivators will choose to open their cave dwellings near the Fiery Volcano because the spiritual energy there is abundant.

Therefore, Ji Yuan chose to develop the area far away from the Fiery Volcano, and... the east side of Icefire Island was just right.

He also plans to take some time to go off the island and explore, and it would be perfect if he could find an uninhabited island or reef.

Just as Ji Yuan finished gathering information and was about to leave, a middle-aged man at the peak of Qi Refining rushed in through the door. As soon as he entered, the man shouted, "Old Zhou, Old Zhou, something terrible has happened on Shang Mountain!"

This made Ji Yuan, who was about to leave, stop in his tracks.

The middle-aged man who had just entered noticed that there was a stranger in the shop. He quickly stopped, cupped his hands in greeting to Ji Yuan, and said, "Uh... I greet you, senior."

"No need for formalities. You said something happened on Mount Shang? Could you tell me about it?"

"able."

The man nodded vigorously. "Even if I don't say it, you should be able to find out from other places."

...Shangshan, which is the front line.

Ji Yuan hadn't forgotten that his eldest and second eldest brothers were fighting up there, guarding the front line in Shangdong.

"Over the past year, the intensity of the attacks from Shangxi has been extremely high, until last month when Shangshan was breached."

"Shangshan has been breached?!"

"So fast?!"

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhou, who was minding the shop, exclaimed in surprise.

Ji Yuan had a similar expression, but he didn't ask the question.

"Yes, a demonic cultivator at the Golden Core stage from Shangxi disguised himself as a Qi Refining cultivator, got close, and then suddenly unleashed his power, tearing open a gash."

"In the end, it was a Golden Core cultivator from Sword Ruins who stepped in and risked his life to close the breach. Later, our Shangdong reinforcements arrived, and we were able to hold the line again."

The man recounted the whole story in one breath.

Ji Yuan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

It's good that it hasn't been truly breached yet. It's only been less than a year since we started. If it had been breached now, then we wouldn't be able to play anymore...

"By the way, Lao Tian, ​​what did the Six Paths Alliance say? I heard from someone from South Sea City a few days ago that the Six Immortals Sect is going to send out a second batch of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there are signs that they are also mobilizing independent cultivators."

Manager Zhou, who was already in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, asked curiously.

"Yes, I heard that even those at the peak of Qi Refining are required. Moreover, you can exchange battle merits for Foundation Establishment Pills on Shang Mountain without any limit. Many cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining have successfully established their foundations on Shang Mountain. I'm also planning to give it a try."

"..."

After that, the two mostly discussed private matters.

Ji Yuan then withdrew from the room.

He looked up at the blazing sun overhead, his eyes slightly narrowed, but his thoughts were already on Shangshan, thousands of miles away.

It seems that the front line is really tough. It hasn't been long, and we already have to conscript a second batch of cultivators, as well as mobilize rogue cultivators and Qi Refining Peak cultivators... But thinking about it carefully...

The mountain is dangerous, but it also presents opportunities.

Things like Foundation Establishment Pills, which are usually unseen, can be exchanged without limit on this platform.

If that's the case, then most other elixirs or rare treasures that help with cultivation and breakthroughs are probably the same.

So as long as you're ruthless enough, you can quickly grow stronger once you go to Shangshan.

"I wonder if my eldest and second senior brothers will return during this rotation, and I wonder if my third senior sister will take this opportunity to go to Shang Mountain."

Ji Yuan had many thoughts running through his mind, but in the end, he put them all behind him.

For him, thinking about it more is useless.

The most urgent task right now is to find a suitable island to build a cave dwelling, and then upgrade the [pigsty].

For the next two days, Ji Yuan wandered around east of Icefire Island, looking for a suitable island. After two days, he actually found a suitable reef.

Not only was there no one there, but there were also cave dwellings left by predecessors above.

-

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