Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 138: Chapter 135: Fire Crystal Ants

One month later.

The moon was bright, stars sparse, and a gentle night breeze blew. In the spirit field, tens of thousands of glittering green lights, like pouring rain, fell on the leaves of the Jade Leaf Mulberry and its dark green branches.

The leaves, as they reflected the spirit light, looked like translucent jade, with clearly visible veins.

Ji An felt the magical power within him completely exhausted and let out a gentle breath.

Finally, he had completed the spellcasting plan he set for today; it wasn’t easy.

Hoping to quickly nurture the spirit wood, Huang Feihu and the nearby spirit farmers were of no help, so he had to cast the magic himself.

“I was supposed to be a farm owner, but I ended up being a farmer.”

Ji An chuckled, but a faint smile played on his lips.

Now owning five thousand acres of mountain forests, he just awaited the roots of these spirit woods to penetrate deep into the earth, and then he would feel much less burdened.

In the newly added spirit field, there were about six hundred acres of Jade Leaf Mulberry and Biluo Trees, planted around the Cold Pool.

Due to the unique environment of Red Flame Peak, they needed more care on usual days, which occupied most of his energy.

If it weren’t for the large coverage of the Perfection Level spells, his magical power wouldn’t be enough to cast magic on the spirit wood every day.

The Jade Wood Transformation Skill and Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell had to be performed every day, and the Spring Breeze and Rain Skill had to be cast every few days.

Compared to them, the Copper Patterned Mulberry and Iron Wire Grass were much easier to manage, needing only the daily casting of the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell.

But effort and reward are proportional; the difference in the growth of the spirit wood was evident after just a few months.

The Jade Leaf Mulberry and Biluo Trees were now half a human in height, but the Copper Patterned Mulberry just barely covered the calves; however, in his plan, the Copper Patterned Mulberry was the most crucial support for the future.

Within the sect’s jurisdiction, the planting area of the Copper Patterned Mulberry was much smaller than the other two types of spirit wood, so the potential demand was larger.

Ji An had thoroughly researched the planting inheritance passed down by his master, but found no secret techniques to expedite the growth of metal element spirit wood, so he could only rely on the Ji Earth technique intent of the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell to speed up its growth.

This approach wasn’t feasible; he needed to return to Ningcui Cliff for advice.

A teacher imparts the Dao, teaches skills, and dispels doubts. If he relied solely on his exploration, who knows how long it would take to see results.

…

The next day, Ji An rode a Flying Shuttle to Ningcui Cliff, where Ge Ying was tending to the Medicinal Garden inside the grotto mansion.

“Greetings, Master. Let me handle these tasks, disciple here to assist.”

He took over from him, starting to cast spells on the spirit medicine, his hand seals changing, causing raindrops in the rolling mist to fall on the spirit plants’ branches and leaves, producing a crisp and pleasant sound.

Ge Ying watched this scene with a smile and nodded slightly.

After completing the spellcasting, the two returned to the living room, Ji An cupped his hands and said:

“Master, I have contracted over a thousand acres of spirit veins at Red Flame Peak, now planted with Copper Patterned Mulberries, Jade Leaf Mulberries, and Biluo Trees, and I’ve also cultivated a few Earth Spirit Fruit Trees.

Whether it’s the Red Cloud Pine and other fire element plants or the Clear Spirit Bamboo and Jade Leaf Mulberry and other wood element plants, apart from relying on the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell and the Jade Wood Transformation Skill to accelerate cultivation, there are also the Flame Fire Spell and the Spring Breeze and Rain Skill available for use.

But for the Copper Patterned Mulberry and Earth Spirit Fruit Trees, I can only rely on the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell. I would like to ask if there are other secret techniques to accelerate cultivation?”

With the many thousands of years of inheritance in the Cultivation Realm, it’s impossible for metal element and earth element plants to have no secret techniques to accelerate cultivation.

The sect’s Inheritance Hall has few secret techniques related to planting; I’ve already carefully checked during Foundation Establishment and found no relevant records.

Ge Ying looked deeply at his disciple and softly said:

“Unknowingly, you’ve grown to this level, able to plant so many spirit woods simultaneously, a blessing for the sect indeed.”

Her tone was both gratified and wistful.

The sect’s lack of planting-oriented inheritances was affecting the disciple’s development.

She paused and continued:

“Besides spells like the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell, the only force in the Western Continent with secret techniques to speed up the cultivation of metal and earth element spirit plants is Luofeng Valley.

The sect’s spirit farmers have explored some methods, but they require consuming spiritual objects, suitable only for nurturing a small number of plants, used when cultivating spirit wood’s advancement.

If you want to cultivate spirit wood on a large scale, these methods are not feasible.”

Ge Ying took out a Jade Slip and copied a piece, sending it to her disciple.

Ji An received the Jade Slip and placed it on his forehead to read with Divine Sense and remained silent after finishing reading.

The methods recorded inside involved refining the corresponding spiritual objects with a magic array to supply the spirit woods for accelerated growth, not suitable for large-scale cultivation, completely lacking cost-effectiveness.

The most economical method was extracting the corresponding Five Elements Essence to nurture the spirit wood, but this economy was only relative.

Putting down the Jade Slip, Ji An smiled wryly and said:

“Looks like I’ll have to extract the essences every day.”

In his heart, he believed the Copper Patterned Mulberry should at least cultivate a few Tier Two-level spirit woods.

Now he’ll mark out twenty or so acres as trial fields to later select the most potential plants for focused cultivation.

The price of the Metal Element Essence was the most expensive among several essences; he would need a lot for a long time.

If he relied entirely on purchase, even with his financial ability, it would be a bit hard to bear; he needed to keep some spirit stones in reserve for unexpected needs.

Extracting Five Elements Essence was work even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators could do. When Old Huang was in the sect, he would go to Jade Water Lake daily to extract Water Element Essence.

This was also a source of income for many Qi Refining disciples, though he had never done it because it was quite time-consuming.

To speak seriously, Red Flame Peak was an excellent place for extracting Metal Element and Fire Element Essence, but the harsh environment made it unbearable for Qi Refining disciples, and Foundation Establishment cultivators rarely engaged in essence extraction.

Ge Ying took out another Jade Slip and sent it over, saying:

“I once obtained a Five Directions Spirit Gathering Technique and gave it to you. This Spell can extract any of the Five Elements Essence.

When extracting different essences, you only need to adjust the spellcasting steps as needed. You’ll understand when you see it, so you don’t have to learn multiple spirit extraction techniques from the sect.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Ji An solemnly placed the Jade Slip back into his Storage Bag and then talked about his planting experiences at Red Flame Peak, sharing insights and gains and losses.

As Ge Ying listened, she occasionally smiled. Among her many disciples, only one was a spirit farmer; the joy of harvest could only be described by this disciple, which brought back memories of her youthful years.

After the disciple finished discussing the current situation and planning, she gently said:

“Your planning is good, but it can be even better.

Last time when I went to Red Flame Peak, I saw a large quantity of Red Cloud Pine that had matured enough, but roasting pine nuts seems a bit wasteful.”

“You can go to the Beast Taming Hall and order a Fire Crystal Ant Queen as your spirit beast, and later purchase several hundred Fire Crystal Ants.

When the Red Cloud Pine blooms, the Fire Crystal Ants can collect pollen to produce Pine Honey.

If the Pine Honey can be of Tier One Upper Grade quality, it will be a premium auxiliary material for refining Fire-attribute Elixirs.”

“The environment there is quite suitable for the growth of Fire Crystal Ants, so you won’t need to spend too much extra time on management.

In a few years, the Ant Queen will be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage and provide a constant supply of top-grade Pine Honey.”

Ji An nodded slightly and smiled:

“Thank you for your guidance, Master.”

He began recalling information about Fire Crystal Ants, which are social demon beasts; controlling the Ant Queen means controlling the entire demon beast race.

The larger the Fire Crystal Ant colony, the stronger the Ant Queen becomes; he had read about Chao Origin Stage Ant Queens in the Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation.

…

Ji An flew to Cui Bamboo Peak’s Beast Taming Hall, took out his Identity Jade Token, and said:

“I’ve ordered a Fire Crystal Ant Queen, and also need the secret technique for nurturing the Queen.

Additionally, add five hundred ordinary Fire Crystal Ants; I’ll take them all together when collecting the Queen.”

Although the Queen’s strength is largely influenced by the colony size, speeding up growth even by a little is beneficial.

The Deacon Disciple respectfully took the Jade Token, operated on the Spirit Disc, and said:

“Junior Martial Uncle, the cost for the Queen is 500 Contribution Points, the secret nurturing technique is 1500 Contribution Points, and two thousand Contribution Points for ordinary Fire Crystal Ants. The package includes spiritual food formulation effective for both the Queen and the ordinary Fire Crystal Ants, though the effect isn’t significant. You can come for pickup in a month.”

Fire Crystal Ants are insect-type demon beasts; the sect primarily nurtures high-tier battle beasts, with limited research on this type of demon beast.

As the disciple spoke, he returned the Jade Token and the waist token as proof.

…

Leaving Cui Bamboo Peak, Ji An arrived at Red Copper Mountain.

Zhang Yuanshan welcomed him into the grotto mansion and said:

“Junior Brother has been quite active lately.”

Previously after Foundation Establishment, he stayed in the grotto mansion, focused on cultivation and hadn’t ventured out for years, but recently he has been moving around a lot.

Ji An pursed his lips and said:

“Senior Brother Ye at the Diligence Hall also mentioned something similar to me.”

Zhang Yuanshan couldn’t help but laugh, paused after a breath, and then with a serious face said:

“Junior Brother, you should socialize more, make some friends; after the demon calamity breaks out, it’s good to have mutual support.”

Ji An nodded slightly:

“I definitely plan to interact more with fellow disciples in the future; when the Spiritual Vein upgrades, Red Flame Peak will have vast Spirit Fields; I’ll be busy in the coming years.”

“Today, I came to ask Senior Brother to refine a top-grade defensive magical artifact.

I’ve considered it; the materials for refining the apricot yellow Banner are uncertain, and I need a magical artifact for protection.

The requirement is sufficient defensive power without affecting body technique maneuvers.”

Currently, he has only a middle-grade artifact, the Stone Turtle Shield, which does not meet his needs anymore.

Thanks to his persistent practice of Wind Control Technique, he has reached the Great Perfection Level, although he hasn’t generated a Dao Seed yet, his body technique is agile enough to change direction in the air.

The addition of a top-grade defensive magical artifact is almost sufficient.

Zhang Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said:

“I suggest Junior Brother refine an Earth Spirit Bead; this is a treasure bead magical artifact capable of emitting protective spirit light.

While it’s far inferior to Senior Brother Zhao’s apricot yellow Banner, it can easily withstand attacks from the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment and significantly weaken attacks from the Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

The advantage lies in its low magical power consumption, allowing long-term use.”

He took out a treasure bead the size of a fist and said:

“This Earth Element Bead is the defensive magical artifact I refined for myself; it has twenty-four layers of Dharma Prohibition stacked; Junior Brother, you can try it.”

Ji An took the treasure bead and walked to the center of the living room, infused it with magical power, and immediately yellow spirit light enveloped him without affecting his movements, similar to the apricot yellow Banner.

“Senior Brother, all refining materials should be provided by you, don’t be stingy with good materials; counting refining costs, how many Spirit Stones will it require?”

Treasure bead magical artifacts are not easily damaged; once he obtains the apricot yellow Banner later, it can be easily sold.

Zhang Yuanshan calculated the material cost and said:

“Just over a thousand Spirit Stones; just round up the number.”

Ji An cheerfully paid the Spirit Stones and asked:

“How long until it’s ready?”

“I’m short on materials and need to purchase some; approximately two to three months; I’ll inform you once the artifact is ready.”

Zhang Yuanshan paused then asked:

“Does Junior Brother need an attack magical artifact?”

“No need,” Ji An waved his hand; after experiencing spiritual artifacts, he found using magical artifacts for attack too rigid.

With his proficiency in magic techniques, it’s sufficient; later he intends to seize an attack spiritual artifact directly.

Spiritual artifacts can increase compatibility with the cultivator through sacrificial refinement and have certain growth potentials.