Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Daoist Master Zhengyang summoned the Profound Yellow Tower. The magical treasure initially was only the size of a fist, but it grew larger in the wind.

It spun and flew above the spiritual peach tree, already more than five feet tall, casting down thousands of warm yellow beams of light.

In Daoist Master Zhengyang’s hand, the Dharma Seal shifted, and he initiated the Object Control Technique.

This magic technique, commonly mastered by Qi Refining disciples, displayed unique power in his hands, uprooting the entire spiritual peach tree along with its roots.

A large pit remained underground, speaking of past events.

With his palm forming into a blade, he nonchalantly waved a few times, and several flashes of golden light severed three arm-thick, foot-long sections of tree root.

Ji An’s pupils constricted; the opponent’s magic was evidently the Golden Light Technique, but its sharp aura was several times stronger than what he could release.

When a cultivator breaks through to the Golden Core Stage, their magic power quality undergoes a qualitative leap.

The Profound Yellow Tower spun and quickly shrank, returning into Daoist Master Zhengyang’s dantian.

He once again initiated the Object Control Technique, delivering the spiritual peach tree roots to the disciple.

Ji An hurriedly received the tree roots, stored them in his storage bag, and clasped his hands in respect:

“Thank you, Ancestor.”

Daoist Master Zhengyang waved his hand, turned his palm, and stored the entire spirit tree into his Grotto Void Ring.

He pointed at the tree pit and said gently:

“When Han Yan delivers the peach seed to you, plant one here.

Later, you will take charge of the sect’s medicinal garden, and after completing the task, you will also receive corresponding rewards.”

He turned his head to the side, “Ge Ying, explain the specific reward rules to your disciple.”

Ge Ying replied:

“Understood, Master.”

Daoist Master Zhengyang inquired again:

“Ji An, when do you plan to officially take over Ningcui Cliff?”

The implication in his words was urged, hoping the disciple would take over as soon as possible.

The sooner he took over the medicinal garden, the sooner the sect’s Chao Origin Stage cultivators’ pill supply gap could be reduced.

The role of a Chao Origin Stage Spirit Farmer was unquestionably much stronger than that of a Foundation Establishment Stage disciple.

“In two years, I will have various tasks to carry out, so I plan to officially take over here after two years,”

Ji An replied. He intended to enjoy the full two-year “break” without tasks.

Daoist Master Zhengyang nodded slightly; he could accept this timeline.

“Very well, we will follow your timeline.

Junior Brother Yuxiao, shall we go?”

Master Yuxiao nodded and advised:

“Once you’ve cultivated the Tier Two Top-grade Spiritual Peach, inform me as soon as possible.

You can go to the Treasure Pavilion and find Jia Yu; he can pass the message on.”

Ji An solemnly nodded:

“As you command, I will report the good news to you, Ancestor, at the first opportunity.”

He silently thought to himself, ’The Ancestor does not wish to leave a magical mark; is it inconvenient, or do I not yet have sufficient standing in their eyes?’

…

After the two Golden Core Daoist Masters left, Master Ji and his disciple returned to the grotto mansion.

Ge Ying said with a smile:

“The Ancestor wants you to take over Ningcui Cliff soon so that I can let go earlier.”

Ji An’s face looked somewhat bitter, and he said:

“In two years, my tasks will suddenly increase, including the Agricultural Hall, Ningcui Cliff, and taking disciples; I won’t have enough time at all.”

At that time, he would inevitably be busy for a while.

“The greater the ability, the more responsibility one must bear.

Once you have organized the Agricultural Hall, you can delegate tasks to other cultivators, needing only to supervise yourself.

Other Hall Masters do this; most trivial matters are handled by the Vice Hall Master, leaving only significant decisions for them.”

Ji An nodded slightly. At the Diligence Hall, trivial matters were previously handled by Ye Changqing, and Senior Brother Zhang Zizhao rarely showed up.

Ge Ying took out a jade slip and handed it over, saying:

“These are the rules for managing the sect’s medicinal garden over the years. I’ll explain the basics to you; you can study the details later.

The submitted spirit medicine will be weighed, with the sect specifying a certain quantity to be submitted every so many years.

If you exceed the quota, you will receive extra small merit rewards, and you can choose to keep them.”

“However, I still recommend submitting them all, as accumulating enough small merit allows you to request resources from the sect, and your needs will be prioritized during resource allocation.

For example, in the future, if you compete for a slot for the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire, having sufficient small merit will give you more advantage.”

“You can also negotiate with the sect to exchange small merit for pills or high-tier spiritual objects. Even if they are not in the Secret Vault, the sect will find a way to obtain them from outside for you.

Dealing with major external forces on behalf of the sect rather than as an individual offers vastly different treatment opportunities.”

Ji An nodded silently, understanding that with a larger establishment, comes the dynamics of leverage.

Over time, a Chao Origin Stage cultivator’s small merits will inevitably accumulate more and more.

The sect will find ways to convert these small merits into tangible benefits; otherwise, the merit system would collapse.

Such a collapse would shake the sect’s foundation, which no one would want to see.

Unlike family cultivators, sect cultivators do not have bloodline ties and must strive to maintain fairness and justice, or the sect cannot last long.

Ji An spent time chatting with his master until noon, took a meal, and then took his leave.

He activated the teleportation array, and in a blur of light and shadow, covered eight hundred miles in an instant, championing a convenient and fast option.

…

Returning to Red Flame Peak, Ji An immediately rode on the cloud to fly toward the tea tree near Jade Leaf Mulberry Field.

He took out a cushioned mat woven with Soul-Calming Grass from his Storage Bag and tossed it on the ground, then sat cross-legged and began to operate the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture.

He had currently only opened the Wood Element Divine Mansion, so cultivating in a place rich in spirit plants was more effective.

Various Five Elements Spirit Light followed the nature’s spiritual energy entering through the nostrils and mouth, the spiritual energy circulated in the Immortal Vein, and ten Dao Seeds flickered in the acupoints.

The liver flashed green brilliance, the heart emitted a misty fire aura, the spleen emitted a warm yellow light, the lungs shone with silver light, and the kidneys glistened with water light.

While operating the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture’s Wood Element Divine Mansion spell, it also had the effect of opening the outer meridian patterns of other Divine Mansions.

However, compared to operating the Dharma Gate to open the Divine Mansion, the efficiency was much slower, but the advantage was that it required no extra attention.

Every time the cultivation technique completed three Grand Circulations, the spiritual energy would be refined into magical power and converge into the Dantian, marking the moment of feast for the Stone Turtle and the Primordial Life Fire.

The Stone Turtle Shell shimmered with flowing light, and the Primordial Life Fire became more active.

Ji An introspected and observed his body, as the cultivation technique automatically operated within.

He ’saw’ the Stone Turtle slowly approach the Primordial Life Fire, then its mouth moved, spewing out a stream of Clear Spirit Qi.

The Primordial Life Fire’s flame light suddenly rose a notch, subsequently “gaining” a circle in size.

Ji An suddenly felt his spirit soul comfortable, as the divine sense consumed earlier by Qi Eating was fully restored.

’What’s happening, has it given a benefit again?’

He was overjoyed in his heart, after a year, the Stone Turtle had performed the same action as on the day he broke through to the Chao Origin Stage, could this mean that this kind of ’interaction’ might become normalized in the future.

The Primordial Life Fire is the Fire of Life manifested from a cultivator’s essence qi, its growth can nourish the cultivator in return.

This means that Ji An’s body foundation received extra replenishment, and his spiritual strength was slightly improved.

Influenced by a cultivator’s innate talents, the growth of the Primordial Life Fire has a limit, and some cultivators’ Primordial Life Fire is naturally more vigorous than others.

If the growth brought by the Stone Turtle is ’extra’ increase, it means that his total magical power would be significantly more than cultivators of the same stage.

The main benefit, the more vigorous the Primordial Life Fire, the higher the efficiency of refining a Golden Core.

The Golden Cores condensed by Golden Core Cultivators are graded, and a vigorous Primordial Life Fire facilitates the refining of a high-grade Golden Core.

Overcome with excitement, Ji An withdrew from his cultivation state.

He did not know if his guess was accurate, it required time to verify.

If the guess were true, it would signify that among cultivators of the same stage, his foundation would be among the strongest.

After a while, he finally suppressed his excitement, and resumed operating the cultivation technique to start cultivating again.

Time flew by, the blazing sun transformed into the setting sun.

The sunset illuminated the water’s surface, the breeze stirred, resembling countless mirrors, reflecting orange-red light that dazzled the eyes.

Ji An exited his cultivation, rode the cloud and headed to the designated area for Qi Eating.

Four threads of cool qi entered his abdomen, his liver felt warm, and the warm breath spread to all limbs and bones.

He felt his hearing clear and sight enhanced, as if he could ’see’ the trajectory of the wind.

He formed spell gestures and took to the clouds again, flying toward the grotto mansion on the mountainside.

After nurturing the Spirit Pine with magical power, he opened the Dharma Prohibition to enter the grotto mansion and arrived at the Quiet Chamber, operating the Dharma Gate to open the Fire Element Divine Mansion.

Before opening the mansion, he specially checked the drip clock.

Magical power flowed through the Immortal Vein, golden light entwined around the heart’s surface, he controlled the magical power to reach the node of the third meridian pattern.

Using the technique of slow and steady progress, expanding the meridian patterns bit by bit.

When Ji An felt his spirit soul weary and exited opening the mansion, he checked the drip clock again, the corner of his mouth curved into a smile.

Thanks to the help of the Stone Turtle, the growth of the Primordial Life Fire indirectly enhanced the spiritual strength.

The time he spent on opening the mansion today was half a moment longer than usual, which was a significant progress.

Like a sprinter, improving the 100-meter record from 10.01 to 9.96, such progress is certainly noteworthy.

Ji An lit Spiritual Charcoal, boiled a pot of Spirit Spring Water, and leisurely brewed a cup of Tier Two Middle Grade Cloud Peak Silver Needle.

When the tea water lost its flavor, he chewed and swallowed the tea leaves as well, not wasting a single effect of the tea leaves.

Because he had to also open the Fire Element Divine Mansion, the tea leaves produced by Red Flame Peak were still not enough.

This predicament would persist for many years, until all the Five Mansions were opened.

But Ji An knew, the more arduous the struggle now, the easier it would be in the future.

…

Mangcang Mountain, the cave at the bottom of the Nameless Deep Valley.

Crisscrossed black bamboo shoot-like rocks concealed the cave entrance, descending through the silent dark cave, arriving at a small cave chamber.

The surface of the altar built of white bones flickered with a faint luminescence.

Suddenly, blue flames half a foot high rose around the altar.

As if blown by wind, the flames twisted and swayed, projecting distorted shadows on the rock wall, resembling demons dancing with claws and teeth.

At the center of the altar, a giant egg with blood vessels shivered and a beautiful woman emerged.

Her black hair was like satin, and her skin white as snow.

A look of confusion flickered in the woman’s eyes, her eyes unfocused and staring at the rock ceiling.

Moments later, colors gradually returned to her dull gaze, with bursts of laughter:

“I have finally completed the Divine Embryo Rebirth Technique, and even integrated a remnant soul of the Blood Demon!

Haha, you Golden Core Cultivators of the sects, just you wait!”

Her voice grew louder and lingered for a long time without ceasing.

The Blood Demon Divine Fetus Rebirth Technique could regenerate the spirit soul, from now on, she had no ties with the past.

The only bad news was that her Golden Core had transformed back, and her cultivation fell back to the Early Stage Foundation Establishment.