Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique-Chapter 124 - 121: Mingfeng Mountain Plan

Ji An smiled and nodded, replying:

"Thanks to Senior Brother’s blessing, I was lucky to breakthrough last night."

He had comprehended the true intent of the Magic Techniques of the Dao of Jia Wood and Dao of Yi Wood and confirmed them with each other, which led him to a deeper understanding of the Cyan Wood Transformation Skill than ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

With no shortage of pills and devoted cultivation, he was able to advance through two realms in ten years.

His progress was impressive, but there was still a considerable gap compared to those truly formidable individuals.

For example, his senior brother Liu Yu, who had broken through to the Third-Layer Foundation Establishment five years ago.

Due to the need to participate in a competition, Liu Yu rarely took pills now, intentionally slowing down his cultivation to focus more on honing and practicing his Magic Techniques.

If one advances too quickly and breaks through to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment before the competition among the three sects, one would have to compete against cultivators at the fifth and sixth stages of Foundation Establishment.

That would put one at a disadvantage, as the opponents could easily overpower them using magical power alone.

When Liu Yu once said this, it made Du Huaiyuan, who was present at the time, envious for a long time.

While others worry about their cultivation not advancing swiftly enough, unexpectedly, some fear their cultivation advancing too quickly.

Ye Changqing hastily waved his hand, smiling:

"Junior brother, you’re too modest. I initially thought being in this Land of Golden Wind and Fierce Fire would slow down your cultivation speed, but I realize now that I was mistaken.

From the quality of Spiritual Charcoal produced at Red Flame Peak over the years, one can see roughly your understanding of the cultivation method."

The sect’s records show that this junior brother only has average aptitude, but achieving this indicates excellent comprehension, greatly compensating for the lack of natural talent.

As cultivation progresses, the gap in aptitude between cultivators further narrows, and his future appears promising.

In his view, continuing in this manner might even allow him to break through to the Chao Origin Stage and become part of the sect’s decision-making level.

After exchanging greetings for a while, Ye Changqing pointed at the fruit trees, saying:

"These Spiritual Apricots are of excellent quality. Remember to save me some after they ripen. I’ll pay for them with Spirit Stones."

He also liked planting Spirit Fruit Trees in his grotto mansion but had never cultivated a Spiritual Apricot Tree that could bear fruit of this size.

"What’s there to negotiate over, I’ll gift some to Senior Brother this year."

Ji An smiled and said that tier one middle-grade Spiritual Apricots weren’t worth many Spirit Stones. It was better to send some to familiar cultivators as a gesture of goodwill.

In a few years, when the fruit trees are nurtured to tier one upper grade, they will be considered good objects. By then, the trees would enter a fruitful period, providing stable yields.

However, he still preferred to meet his needs first before selling, not wanting to be the type who hoards wealth excessively.

Ji An escorted his guest to the stone house by the Cold Pool, as the Spiritual Mechanism in the grotto mansion was not suited for entertaining guests during the day.

Liang Hill, with great insight, brought out Spiritual Charcoal to start a fire for brewing tea, then withdrew outside to await.

"Senior Brother, I heard that the sect’s expansion into new outposts is meeting increasing resistance and has already encountered Chao Origin Stage level demon beast races. What exactly is the situation?"

Ye Changqing raised an eyebrow slightly and said:

"Junior brother seems to be staying at Red Flame Peak all day without going outside, yet your information is very up-to-date!"

Most people are unaware of the encounter with Chao Origin Stage demon beast race news. He only knew because of his position.

"Senior Brother might not have noticed, my fellow disciple Liu Yu is currently serving at the Law Enforcement Hall.

This information was told to me when he returned to the sect after completing a demon-hunting mission a few days ago."

Ye Changqing stroked his goatee, nodding lightly:

"Indeed, it’s a distinct case; the Ningcui Cliff lineage actually produced a cultivator like Junior Brother Liu, who possesses exceptional talent in Magical Combat."

Liu Yu had earned many merits at the Law Enforcement Hall and received numerous rewards from the sect, frequently visiting the Diligence Hall to take on tasks, which led to him becoming acquainted with them.

From other Law Enforcement Hall cultivators, he learned that Liu Yu seemed gentle and refined, but in Magical Combat, he was aggressive as fire, often achieving what others could not.

The Ningcui Cliff lineage is known for alchemy, and now with an addition of a cultivator skilled in Magical Combat, their influence within the sect will further expand.

Ye Changqing cleared his throat and continued:

"Actually, my visit today was partly to inform you of some matters.

The sect’s advance in the Ten Thousand Mountains has halted at the Evil Wolf Valley and Mingfeng Mountain line; these two places have several large wolf-type demon beast groups.

Beyond Mingfeng Mountain lies the hunting grounds of the Golden Feathered Eagle clan.

Wolf-type demon beasts have always been the main force of demon calamities. If we can eradicate the wolf demons here, future demon calamities will be reduced by at least half.

However, as we attacked the wolf demons, the Golden Feathered Eagles, not on good terms with them, unexpectedly launched attacks against us, halting our advance."

There is a stark jungle law among demon beasts: the Golden Feathered Eagles often prey on wolf demons, while the more powerful wolf demons hunt the eagles, creating deep-seated enmity between the two races.

Now, there’s a stance of supporting each other, suggesting that alliances might be forming among demon beasts.

As he spoke, he drew a simple map with his finger dipped in water:

"Mingfeng Mountain is a tier two upper grade spiritual vein; if we can seize it to set up the Mountain Protection Array, it would provide a strong support point for the outposts we’ve occupied over the years.

Not only us, but Luofeng Valley and Yuanhe Mountain are also advancing here. Junior Brother understands what I mean?"

Ji An’s gaze fell, contemplating:

"The ancestors of several sects must have planned long ago to seize this spiritual vein, making it the forefront of the demon calamity outbreak on the demon beasts’ territory."

His gaze became bright, and he solemnly said:

"If I’m not mistaken, the Three Sects intend to establish a giant marketplace at Mingfeng Mountain similar to Cyan Cloud Immortal City, offering benefits to lure a large number of loose cultivators there."

Ji An thought that the situation was becoming clear. The Central Continent cultivators were using the Western Continent as a strategic buffer, and the sects of the Western Continent wanted to use the numerous loose cultivators as a strategic buffer to keep enemies outside their territory and minimize the impact on their sects’ mountain gates.

The cultivation clans should also add fuel to the fire, and most loose cultivators would follow the sects’ guidance for the sake of benefits.

Ye Changqing’s long gray eyebrows twitched a few times, and he praised:

"I also suspect it’s the same, but attacking Mingfeng Mountain won’t be easy. The wolf demon race has several demon kings at the late-stage Chao Origin inside."

Beyond Mingfeng Mountain lies the core area of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

If the sect ancestors show up, it might provoke a siege by Golden Core Stage demon kings, possibly causing the demon calamity to break out earlier."

"The battle can’t drag on too long; it must be a fast and decisive fight, or it will also attract the attention of the demon kings deeper in the mountains.

The ancestors of each sect can only lead and support the battle, with Chao Origin Stage cultivators as the core. A large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators should be mobilized to fight, while urging each cultivation clan to send their personnel to join the battle.

Although Junior Brother is a Spirit Farmer, he’s already at the third layer of Foundation Establishment, and there’s a high chance he’ll be enlisted, so it’s best to plan ahead."

The battle will inevitably see sacrifices; an assault can’t recruit too many loose cultivators, or the harsh situation would be prematurely exposed, reducing the willingness of loose cultivators to head to the New Immortal City, which would be detrimental to future plans.

The sects’ idea is to tackle the tough problems themselves and offer more benefits to the loose cultivators.

If this war goes smoothly, it will surely yield a huge number of demon beast inner cores, which will be the time for each sect to replace the main ingredient in Foundation Establishment Pills with demon cores for mass alchemy.

Using Foundation Establishment Pills as bait will undoubtedly drive the loose cultivators wild, attracting a lot of them to the New Immortal City.

Once they take the bait, it’ll be hard for them to extricate themselves in the future.

Ji An’s eyes shone with divine light. Now, he’s not afraid of magical combat; he just needs to prepare a few more handy magical artifacts.

He currently has quite a few Tier Two Spiritual Objects, so he might as well find someone to refine them into a Spiritual Artifact in one go.

The sound of bubbling arises; the Spirit Spring Water has already boiled.

Ji An brewed the tea, poured two cups, handed one over, and said in a deep voice:

"Senior Brother, when do you think the sect will take action?"

Ye Changqing caught the tea cup, sniffed the aroma wafting out, a slight smile of intoxication appearing on his lips:

"At least two or three years of preparation is needed, Junior Brother, you still have time to hone your magical combat skills.

My advice is to purchase several defensive magical artifacts; during the battle, one should aim for no mistakes rather than achievements."

The sect will distribute many rewards based on battle performance, as it’s a major motive to drive the disciples to risk their lives.

He didn’t think Ji An would have any outstanding performance in the battle. The other party’s Spirit Farmer level was profound, and his cultivation was quite advanced too.

If he also had a strong magical combat talent, how could others survive?

Ji An chuckled and said:

"Senior Brother’s method is quite to my liking."

Currently, he layers the Golden Armor Technique with Pan Mountain Technique; his defense is astonishing. Custom-made a defensive Spiritual Artifact, he should be unafraid of late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beasts’ attacks.

This is under the condition where he doesn’t reveal his Golden Light Technique; if he uses all his means, he predicts he can withstand the siege of several late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beasts for a short period.

Ye Changqing was quite pleased that the other party listened, smiling and taking out a storage bag:

"Inside are 2250 sheets of cut beast hide, along with enough talisman ink and brushes. I’ll come back for 900 Explosive Flame Talismans in three months.

Junior Brother, you should purchase more talisman-making materials in the future, to make up for the lack of attack methods during battles with talismans."

"That’s what I was thinking too."

Ji An handed over the storage bag hanging on his waist and took out his identity jade token, saying:

"Inside are the 750 top-grade Explosive Flame Talismans completed from the last task, Senior Brother, please count them."

After verifying the quantity, Ye Changqing took out a spirit disc, and added the corresponding contribution points to the jade token, leaving task records.

He returned the jade token and said with a smile:

"Junior Brother, you have accumulated quite a lot of contribution points over the years, currently three hundred and eighty thousand."

Ji An grinned, for the past ten years he almost did not spend, with the only expenses being purchasing pills and trading spiritual stones with Li Lingyu.

"It seems like a lot, but it’s used up quickly. During mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, cultivation methods require the refinement of various spiritual objects, which is a long-term and substantial expense."

Due to the sect’s mandatory tasks, the prices of various spiritual objects are more than double what they were over a decade ago.

Exchanging spiritual objects with contribution points from the sect’s treasury is even more exorbitantly expensive.

Ye Changqing chuckled twice and mysteriously said:

"Once Junior Brother breaks through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment, perhaps you won’t have such troubles."