Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 221: Chapter 213: Foundation Establishment Stage 6

Ji An clapped his hands and laughed, “That’s great. Junior Brother Wei once helped me buy Profound Yellow Soil for 400 Spirit Stones per tael. Is it still that price now?”

Profound Yellow Soil is, after all, a Tier Two resource, and there aren’t many opportunities to buy it with Spirit Stones.

Having just traded fifty catties of Top-Grade Golden Leaf, he had the confidence to settle with Spirit Stones.

“Of course,” Zhang Yuanshan readily agreed, weighing out half a catty of Profound Yellow Soil.

Selling Tier Two resources for Spirit Stones may seem a loss, but in terms of personal relationships, it was a gain.

As more Spirit Fruits are cultivated in the Red Flame Peak, future purchases of Tier Two Fire Element Spirit Fruits would still rely on Senior Brother Ji.

He recalled his days at the Cyan Pine Daoist School, and how this previously down-and-out disciple could achieve today’s success was beyond his imagination.

Ji An put the Profound Yellow Soil into his Storage Bag and cupped his hands, “Thank you, Junior Brother, for your help. Half a catty of Profound Yellow Soil costs two thousand Spirit Stones, while refining the Water-Resistant Bead and the Fireproof Bead costs three hundred Spirit Stones. Junior Brother only needs to give me two hundred Spirit Stones.”

After they completed the transaction, Liang Hill spoke, “Senior Brother, your Cyan Water Turtle has been nurtured to such a size, do you have any secret tips?”

He noticed the Cyan Water Turtle under the shade by the Cold Pool was clearly larger than his own and humbly sought advice.

“As for nurturing the Beast Taming, I only consulted the Sect’s basic methods. If there’s any secret, it might be that I spared no expense in feeding it Celestial Essence Pears.”

There is a clearly distinct method of nurturing various Demon Beasts, and Ji An had neither the time nor the energy to delve into researching secret nurturing techniques.

Among the four pets, aside from being somewhat attentive to the Rock Armor Bear, the rest were raised in a rough-and-ready manner.

No energy to nurture? Just use the ’pay-to-win’ method.

The resources obtained would be used just like that, to make sure they are worth it.

Liang Hill was speechless. This method was simple and crude but indeed effective, yet he couldn’t learn it.

The Red Flame Peak produced Top-grade Celestial Essence Pears, but feeding them to a Qi Layer Cyan Water Turtle would mostly waste the Spiritual Power, relying solely on the Spirit Fruit’s natural properties to nourish the beast.

He didn’t have the strength to use such a lavish method to feed, and Spirit Stones were just part of the reason.

…

Red Copper Mountain, Burning Cloud Cave.

The rocks here were a dark red, and in the evening glow, they appeared fantastically colorful.

From a distance, the clouds and the mountain peaks seemed to merge, creating a magnificent spectacle.

Zhao Lei controlled the Flying Shuttle to land at the cave entrance and hurriedly stepped inside, bending low with cupped hands, “Greetings Master.”

Zhuu Xiangrong had just returned from Sunrise Peak and was enjoying some tea.

Unlike other Artifact Refiners, he didn’t like the intensity of wine, preferring the subtlety of tea, always finding the tea’s charm more enticing than wine’s fragrance.

“Ah, Zhao Lei, sit down and talk.

Child, serve the tea.”

Zhuu Xiangrong said warmly, as Zhao Lei was his senior disciple, who he was quite fond of.

Generally speaking, the meaning of a cultivator’s senior disciple and closed-door disciple was different.

“Thank you, Master.”

Even though Zhao Lei ordinarily preferred drinking wine, in front of his master, he dared not be carefree and unrestrained.

“I received an order to refine a Spiritual Artifact, and I’m not sure how best to engrave the Dharma Prohibition patterns, so I came to seek your guidance, Master.”

Zhao Lei stepped forward and took a Purple Fire Gourd out from his Storage Bag.

“I’m preparing to refine it into a Spiritual Artifact for nurturing flames, with a requirement to maximize storage space while nurturing flames that threaten Chao Origin Stage cultivators.”

Zhuu Xiangrong received the gourd and exclaimed, “A Tier Two Purple Fire Gourd, rare indeed!”

He had refined many gourd Spiritual Artifacts, even Top-Grade Second-Level ones, but had never seen a Tier Two Purple Fire Gourd.

Spirit Plants have a growth limit, breaking this limit is not an easy task.

Just like cultivators, with the same resource supply, some can cultivate to the Golden Core Stage, while others struggle to breakthrough to the Chao Origin Stage.

Zhuu Xiangrong extended his Divine Sense to carefully feel the gourd’s internal textures.

In Talisman Making, each Beast Hide’s pattern is different, and the Artifact Embryo’s texture in Artifact Refining is even more complex.

Artifact Refiners need to find all the Magical Power nodes one by one and engrave Dharma Prohibition Artifact Patterns on them.

One could say that every Magical Artifact is unique, and Artifact Refiners must adapt accordingly.

Zhuu Xiangrong extended a single finger and said, “Space Prohibition and Nurturing Prohibition patterns need to be nested, but the core should focus on the Space Prohibition to maximize the Spiritual Artifact’s storage capacity.

Engrave the Fire Storage Technique Prohibition patterns as auxiliary, without overly pursuing increased flame power.”

Achieving perfect unity of quality and quantity is not easy; sometimes there’s no such balance, and compromises must be made.

Zhao Lei scratched his head and said, “Wouldn’t that be a waste? I think the Purple Fire Gourd can nurture much stronger flames, and reaching Tier Two Middle Grade intensity shouldn’t be hard, right?”

He believed that the refined Spiritual Artifact could nurture flames capable of reaching the attack level of a Chao Origin Stage cultivator.

“You’re not wrong, but! Don’t dream foolishly that you can threaten a Chao Origin opponent with a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact.

I can tell you for sure, relying on a Chao Origin Stage cultivator’s speed, they would never be hit by such a Spiritual Artifact unless they were seriously injured and unable to dodge.

Therefore, it’s better to compromise, and nurture flames that can reach the level of a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator.”

Flame strength is useless if it can’t hit the target.

Zhao Lei suddenly realized, “So that’s it, I was being naive.

Master, in that case, we don’t need to use other Tier Two materials to refine the Spiritual Artifact.”

“Indeed, there’s no need.”

…

A month later.

Ji An was practicing the Water Control Technique by the Cold Pool, while the Cyan Water Turtle lazily lay beside him, waiting for Spirit Fish to be fed.

He felt a stream of air drawn into the Immortal Vein in his chest and removed the pendant from around his neck, his eyes reflecting a peculiar glint.

This curiosity he obtained from a stall on Mingfeng Mountain was still capable of producing Gen Spirit. He had thought it would have long since ceased to function.

Lately, the Stone Turtle had absorbed more than ten points of Gen Spirit. Although the quantity wasn’t much, he could reap some every few days.

What delighted him was that this state had been maintained stably for several days.

As long as he maintained this pace, the grains of sand would eventually form a tower.

Looking at a long timeframe, say a hundred years, he could gain tens of thousands of Gen Spirit points, a massive profit.

At only fifty years old, he could easily live another hundred years without worry.

“If only I could find an artifact that contains other forms of Spiritual Mechanism!”

Ji An’s heart was aflame, as humans are always insatiable.

He tilted his head and noticed a Communication Talisman Sword entering Red Flame Peak, flying straight towards the Cold Pool, heading directly at him.

Ji An reached out, feeling the Magical Mark on it, and couldn’t help but smile.

’The Spiritual Artifact is completed, come quickly.’

…

Ji An landed on Red Copper Mountain and stepped into the Grotto Mansion.

“Junior Brother, please sit down quickly.”

Zhao Lei brought out a palm-sized gourd, his face full of pride as he said:

“The refining process was very smooth, seven to eight days faster than I expected.

The Spiritual Artifact contains thirty-six Spiritual Prohibitions and can store five times the amount of fire as a Top-Grade Magical Artifact.

The intensity of the nurtured flame can compare to a Foundation Establishment Perfection level cultivator practicing a Fire Element Technique.

However, the speed at which the flame is ejected hasn’t significantly increased, so it’s not suited for quick opponents.”

The gourd’s skin resembled jade, its divine glow restrained, but still hard to overlook.

Ji An joyfully took the gourd. The Spiritual Artifact had a size-adjusting Spiritual Prohibition, making it convenient to carry.

The gourd was warm to the touch, like holding a piece of warm jade.

He performed a Spell, and the gourd instantly enlarged.

Zhao Lei smiled smugly and said:

“The nurturing speed of the Spiritual Artifact is more than three times faster than a Top-Grade Magical Artifact, so even though the space is much larger, the nurturing speed isn’t much slower.”

“Senior Brother, your craftsmanship is commendable!”

Ji An stored away the Spirit Gourd and took out a jar of Pine Nut Wine, expressing his heartfelt gratitude.

“Hehe, you’re too kind, Junior Brother.”

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before Ji An took his leave.

Zhao Lei eagerly unsealed the jar of wine, knowing that the Pine Nut Wine produced on Red Flame Peak was richer in flavor than those produced elsewhere.

The crisp aroma of the wine filled the air, and he took a few deep breaths.

“This wine tastes different!”

With years of drinking experience, he found the taste more fragrant!

He poured a cup from his Storage Bag and took a small sip.

“It’s Tier Two Pine Nut Wine; Junior Brother Ji is indeed a good person to associate with!”

…

The mulberries on Red Flame Peak ripened time and again, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

The blazing sun hung high, and the mountain forest was silent, except for the stifling wind groaning.

Ji An sat cross-legged by the Cold Pool in the Mulberry Field, practicing the Evergreen Wood Skill.

Emerald light emanated from the Spirit Wood, with faint black Water Element Spirit Light and yellow Earth Element Spirit Light swirling around him, joined by strands of golden light extracted from sunlight celebrating it.

The Azure Dragon Wood and Profound Yellow Soil in his hands had entirely lost their spirituality, and the trickle of Spirit Water in front of him in the Jade Bowl had dried up.

Unaware of this, Ji An only felt like a giant tree, drawing spirituality from the earth, the pool, the Spirit Wood, and even the void, growing vigorously.

Spiritual Qi circulated through the Immortal Vein, and the ten Dao Seeds in the Acupoints flickered with Spirit Light as Spiritual Qi passed through.

The Spirit Mechanism contained in the Spiritual Qi nourished the Dao Seeds, which in turn endowed the Spiritual Qi with more mental realm.

Ji An felt his Dantian and Ancestral Acupoint pulsate rhythmically, refined Magical Power falling like rain into the Qi Sea.

Suddenly, the Dantian erupted with a tremendous attraction, like a Canglan Dragon drawing water, devouring all Magical Power in the Immortal Vein and Acupoints.

With the influx of Magical Power, the Dantian expanded slightly, warm currents emanated from it, spreading to his limbs and bones.

His entire body felt warm, as if bathed in spring light.

The Immortal Veins in his body had experienced various degrees of growth, extending more fine branches.

A bevy of leaf-vein-shaped green marks appeared on the surface of his liver, covering nearly half its area.

A burst of robust life force surged through his liver and quickly subsided, the green pattern like ink drops in a large lake rapidly dispersing, becoming paler until disappearing as if nothing had ever transpired.

The Spiritual Pressure around Ji An rose, an invisible gust radiating outward centered on him.

From a bird’s-eye view, the area looked as if it were hit by a shockwave, with the surrounding Spiritual Mulberries leaning away from him.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright, with shimmering emeralds within his pupils, appearing extraordinarily mystical.

Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer, achieved today!

Today, three years and four months have passed since his breakthrough to the Fifth Layer, shorter than the time it took to break from the Fourth to the Fifth Layer.