The news brought back by the Second Elder revealed a terrifying fact to everyone: the Skeleton Sect is now unable to find resources. The most urgent task is to find a way to acquire resources and obtain Black Obsidian!

With Black Obsidian, all kinds of resources can be acquired. With resources, martial artists will naturally come to join, and with Wu Du coming, the Skeleton Sect can grow stronger.

After thinking for a long time, everyone finally discussed and decided to first buy some Crimson Flame Bodhi seeds. Since there is no better plan, they can only plant them to see. Even if the quality is not good, it can at least bring some income to the island, and at the very least, they won’t suffer a total loss.

The Second Elder brought out some treasures that everyone had collected and returned to Tie Family Island to exchange them for seeds and learn how to plant them.

Just a day later, the Second Elder brought back good news. Tie Hualong was quite particular and very generous, not taking any treasures, but instead gave him many seeds for free and taught the Second Elder how to plant them, promising that if needed, he could send someone to guide them.

However, Tie Hualong assured the Second Elder that the land on Xinkai Island was utterly unsuitable for planting Crimson Flame Bodhi, fearing they would suffer a total loss.

After hearing the planting method from the Second Elder, everyone understood why he said they would suffer a total loss. It turned out that Crimson Flame Bodhi truly needed blood for nourishment—not water, but nutrients from blood. Of course, it’s not human blood, but the blood of livestock and animals. Under normal circumstances, it takes six months for Crimson Flame Bodhi to mature and bear Bodhi Fruit. If nurtured with blood, the time can be shortened significantly, blooming and fruiting in a month, and the quality will improve significantly.

Xinkai Island lacks any wild beasts, its plants unsuitable for consumption and unable to sustain animals. To acquire animal blood, they have to buy it externally.

Tie Hualong also told him a method: buy a spiritual beast called Blood Ox. The Blood Ox is enormous, with robust blood-producing capabilities. Even with daily bloodletting, as long as it has some food, it can regenerate fresh blood. However, its lifespan will shorten with daily bloodletting, living only about five months.

Whether buying animals in large quantities or Blood Ox, it all requires money—in the form of Black Obsidian. But the Skeleton Sect desperately lacks Black Obsidian. Without using blood, the grown Crimson Flame Bodhi would be of very poor quality, unsellable, resulting in a total loss.

No matter what, the Second Elder and everyone felt they should give it a try. The Second Elder personally led a team to Heavenly Moonlight Island, buying nine Blood Oxen back. Constantly slaughtering animals is too excessive, and they don’t have that many resources to waste. Using Blood Ox can save some, and with attention, one Blood Ox can last six months; counting down, Blood Ox saves money.

The Second Elder went out for a few days, towing back eight Blood Oxen by warship. These Blood Oxen grow and live in the sea, capable of floating and moving, saving many costs in towing because they are extremely large—each Blood Ox as tall as an ancient towering tree.

All preparations were completed. The Second Elder opened up a piece of vacant land, choosing a site within a valley for planting a large patch of Crimson Flame Bodhi, assigning people to watch over them day and night, diligently bleeding the Blood Oxen to irrigate these Crimson Flame Bodhi, fearing any mistakes.

Wu Qingxia was equally tense, frequently running to the valley, with many elders accompanying her to observe. Everyone cherished these Crimson Flame Bodhi, hoping for a good harvest.

However, days later, everyone’s mood worsened, faces becoming increasingly gloomy. The Crimson Flame Bodhi grew, but their quality was exceptionally poor, vastly inferior to those on Tie Family Island. After examining, the Second Elder affirmed this was the poorest Crimson Flame Bodhi he had ever seen.

"Ah, cultivating at this speed is truly tedious and too slow!"

After cultivating for over ten days, Ding Fan emerged from his stone castle. Now he could stably generate up to five waves, seeking more levels, but his inner True Qi and Inner Strength were insufficient. It seems boosting his True Qi and Inner Strength is necessary. However, given his current possessions, advancing his realm is too difficult. He sighed while walking out of his cultivation stone castle.

To surpass the Divine Realm Second Level Peak State without external aid seems impossible. At Ding Fan’s current pace, it would take another three to five years without guaranteed advancement.

Thinking about the time required to transcend his current state, Ding Fan felt extremely frustrated. Investing so many years for such minimal cultivation made him worry he might perish in this Divine Realm aiming for a Ninth Level.

He didn’t wish to end his life here, too many concerns awaited his resolution. At this moment, Ding Fan truly realized the significance of resources. Without the Straight Elixir Medicine to accelerate cultivation, even the most gifted martial artists cannot compete against time.

Additionally, growing older slows the cultivation pace; sensitivity declines, making advancement even tougher.

Another reason he emerged was that Sirius was out of food. On the way to Tianmu Sea, Ding Fan previously requested Violet Crystal from Wu Qingxia, occasionally feeding it a few crystals. It was quite economical, but having settled now, it ate more than before, devouring the entire bag of Purple Ore Crystal in just a few days, prompting Ding Fan to seek more from Wu Qingxia.

After circling several times within the stone castle group on the island, Ding Fan could not find Wu Qingxia. He asked someone and learned about the herb garden; it turns out she had gone to the valley herb garden again.

Previously Ding Fan had heard about the Crimson Flame Bodhi matter, but he was always busy cultivating, so he did not know the details about the medicinal herbs. Now, it was time to take a look at what Second Elder and others deemed precious.

The valley was not far from outside the stone castle; it was a small valley surrounded by mountain Di Ye on three sides with only one path leading out. It was easy to defend and hard to attack, indicating Second Elder put thought into choosing this place.

Soon, Ding Fan arrived outside the valley, where a small river ran by the entrance. At the opening, two skilled Martial Art masters from the Skeleton Sect were guarding it. Seeing Ding Fan approach, they greeted him. Ding Fan asked them about Wu Qingxia’s whereabouts and headed inside.

The valley’s ground was not large, easy to see from end to end, only about two thousand meters. Cleared ground hosted approximately one thousand red plants.

At a glance, they resembled eggplant seedlings from Earth, with each seedling bearing bright red leaves, the whole plant appearing purplish-red.

"The stench of blood here is immense!"

Ding Fan thought as he searched for a familiar figure. He saw a large pool beside a wooden hut up ahead, filled entirely with blood. Wu Qingxia crouched at the edge, deep in thought.

Seeing Wu Qingxia, Ding Fan walked over to her, stood by her side, clasped his fists, and said, "Sect Leader, you had me searching everywhere. Why are you dazing off here?"

Upon hearing Ding Fan’s words, Wu Qingxia turned to see him, forcing a smile on her face, and said, "Brother Ding, don’t call me that. When there’s no one around, call me Qingxia. Why did you come out today? Aren’t you cultivating?"

"I didn’t want to come out, but this little guy has run out of food. Can you give me some more Purple Ore Crystal?"

Ding Fan pointed to the Sirius squatting on his shoulder, about the size of a ferret. This Sirius is an oddity, not eating much meat but preferring ores instead. It appeared shiny and black, quite endearing.

By now, everyone was aware of Sirius’s existence. They didn’t know what this Sirius was; they only thought it was a pet Ding Fan kept.

Previously, Ding Fan had asked Wu Qingxia for Purple Ore Crystal, and she had watched Sirius eating it. She wasn’t astonished since the Divine Realm hosted many exotic beasts; she had seen spiritual beasts consuming various metal objects.

However, Ding Fan’s request now posed a dilemma for Wu Qingxia. She glanced at Ding Fan and then the Sirius, saying, "Brother Ding, it’s not that I’m unwilling, but you might not understand the situation. The sect has run out of Purple Ore Crystal; the last batch I gave was indeed the last. We don’t have extra Black Obsidian to buy other things now... maybe you should send this pet away first."

Hearing Wu Qingxia’s words, Ding Fan was surprised, not expecting Skeleton Sect to be this impoverished. Sirius was displeased being called a pet; though small and lacking a powerful aura, it was indeed a King Beast, simply hiding its presence so others wouldn’t detect it.

Since Great Python Mountain, Sirius had been fighting alongside Ding Fan. The two now felt more like comrades than master and pet. It originally had no name, given by Xia Mengqing who called it Sirius, making Ding Fan see it as a means of remembering Xia Mengqing.

"Sect Leader, has it really become so difficult now? There’s not even Black Obsidian to buy some Amethyst Ore?"

Ding Fan looked at several martial artists nearby, lowered his voice, and asked Wu Qingxia.

"Not exactly, but truthfully, not much remains. I only recently became sect leader, lacking authority and weak in cultivation. If I insist on purchasing Amethyst Ore during such challenging times for the sect, everyone might be dissatisfied."

"See, even these precious Crimson Flame Bodhi seeds were freely given by the Tie Family. Yet, we spent quite a bit of Glowstone on Blood Oxen, and look how poorly these seedlings are growing. The sect may end up losing more than gaining this time. Everyone’s upset over the Glowstone issue, and if I were to buy Amethyst Ore, it might stir public anger!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Wu Qingxia expressed to Ding Fan, her voice loud but face filled with worry.