The spirit shuttle resembled a double-ended skiff, about three meters long.
Ji An had purchased the best model available. Once activated, its speed surpassed that of standard flying boats by several tiers. At full power, it was said to rival the sword flight of a mid-Foundation cultivator.
Of course, flying that fast came at a cost; the shuttle consumed spirit stones like water.
Each activation required ten stones, and even then, it couldn't sustain top speed for long.
But to Ji An, that kind of expense was nothing more than drizzle on a spring morning.
Over the three-plus years since he exchanged his contribution points for a Foundation Pill, he no longer needed to buy cultivation medicines or cover major expenses. In that time, he'd managed to save over six thousand spirit stones.
Thinking back to the days when a few missing stones had nearly driven him into despair, Ji An couldn't help but laugh at himself. How ridiculous it all seemed now.
Everything he had today rested on the foundation of his mastery of cultivation-planting techniques, the main reason he still tended his spirit fields so diligently.
At the Foundation stage, almost any resource could be purchased directly with spirit stones.
Yes, prices were inflated, but his rate of earnings outpaced the inflation easily enough.
Leaving the sect's refining workshop, Ji An discarded the worn-out gray cloth bag he'd used for his spirit-seeking rat and instead placed each of his two spirit beasts into proper spirit beast pouches.
The old bag had provided no concealment; any Foundation cultivator could have sensed the quality of the beasts inside.
Satisfied, he patted the pouches hanging from his belt and grinned.
"Senior Sister, once I buy another batch of Azure Spirit Pills, I'll be done with my errands.
Anything else you need to take care of? We can handle it while we're here."
The act of spending spirit stones was almost pleasantly intoxicating, and the greater pleasure was that everything he wanted to buy, he'd bought in top quality.
Li Lingyu's teeth nearly ached from jealousy. For a fleeting moment, she even wanted to transform into a bandit cultivator and rob this "rich junior" blind.
In the sect's refining hall alone, her junior brother had spent over nine hundred spirit stones choosing the largest storage bag, the most expensive spirit shuttle, and two cheaper beast pouches purely out of practicality.
Ordinary spirit farmers were rarely well-off, but this one was rolling in wealth.
Most cultivators spoke of buying pills by the piece, the wealthy by the bottle or two.
But Ji An? He was buying "by the batch."
Li Lingyu almost groaned aloud. This was enough to make anyone die of envy.
Even with the sect's monthly rations, she could only afford seven or eight Azure Spirit Pills a month.
If she weren't an alchemist, even that much would've been impossible.
Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, she finally said,
"Junior Brother… if you have spare spirit stones, could you lend me some?
As you know, an alchemist needs constant practice to refine their technique.
But I've only been in Foundation for a few years, my success rate for Azure Spirit Pills isn't high. Sometimes I even fail to meet the sect's quota.
"The sect's alchemy workload is heavy, but my assignments are few, and that makes it hard to improve quickly."
Her voice carried a faint note of bitterness. Since forming her Foundation, she'd poured an ocean of spirit stones into failed furnaces, all to refine her skill in pillmaking.
If her success rate stayed too low, even the sect wouldn't assign her work.
Ji An blinked in surprise, then chuckled.
"No problem. Let's head to the Zhen Dan Workshop first. Whatever spirit stones I have left, I'll lend them all to you.
Consider it an advance payment for the pills I'll be buying later.
"But, Senior Sister, I expect nothing less than genuine-grade pills in return."
He found the situation faintly amusing. Once, he'd been the one borrowing spirit stones from others; now he was the creditor for a change.
He'd seen firsthand how tough it was for alchemists the day before, when he'd accompanied Li Lingyu through the herb market; he realized that anyone lacking skill would burn through stones faster than fire through paper.
Even for the talented, success demanded constant practice.
Take Azure Spirit Pills, for example: a single batch's worth of ingredients costs around 120 spirit stones.
Without at least a 40% success rate, an alchemist couldn't even break.
Talent meant little without experience; the first few furnaces of a new recipe were almost guaranteed failures.
Only after achieving consistent success could one begin to profit.
Li Lingyu smiled, her tone regaining some warmth.
"Rest assured, Junior Brother. No alchemist would ever dare sell inferior pills within the sect; our reputations would never recover."
Li Lingyu smiled faintly.
"In the sect, you see the same faces every day. Selling fake pills is a good way to make enemies. Any substandard pills just get sent off to the small outer markets to deal with."
The two of them arrived at Zhen Dan Pavilion, where their spiritual pressure immediately drew the attention of a Foundation-stage steward who came forward to receive them.
After exchanging a few polite words in a private room upstairs, Ji An got straight to the point:
"How much are your Azure Spirit Pills?"
The price of Azure Spirit Pills typically hovered between 27 and 28 spirit stones per pill, but Zhen Dan Pavilion always charged a little more because their quality and reliability made the extra cost worth it.
"Thirty spirit stones apiece,"
The steward said with a courteous smile. Pills for Foundation cultivators required century-old main ingredients, and the materials alone were quite expensive.
"Any discounts for buying in bulk?"
"Well, that depends on how large a bulk you're talking about," the steward replied smoothly.
"If you buy fifty or more, I can go down to twenty-nine per pill.
Buy a hundred or more, and I'll give you twenty-eight each."
He stroked his goatee while studying them discreetly. Both appeared to be only at the early Foundation stage, and he doubted they had the financial strength for such a purchase.
Still, business was business, and courtesy was free. Even if they couldn't afford it now, they might one day, and his best clients were those who enjoyed how "comfortable" his dealings were.
Ji An did a quick calculation. He still wanted to lend Li Lingyu some spirit stones, then said after a pause,
"Then I'll take eighty."
He formed a hand seal and summoned several mid-grade spirit stones along with a pile of low-grade ones from his storage bag.
"Please count them, fellow cultivator."
Eighty?
Li Lingyu's delicate brows lifted for an instant before smoothing back into place.
( Eighty? He still has stones left to lend me after that? This man really is loaded… )
The steward blinked, momentarily surprised that eighty pills were a sizable order, but quickly recovered, smiling even more broadly.
He instructed a servant girl to fetch eight jade bottles of Azure Spirit Pills, personally counted the payment himself, then produced a jade token engraved with a maple-leaf pattern.
"I've recorded this transaction," he said, handing it over.
"If you spend more than ten thousand spirit stones at our establishment, you'll qualify for a permanent 2% discount."
"Now that's good marketing," Ji An chuckled, slipping the token into his storage bag.
It almost felt like he'd just signed up for a membership card.
After checking the pills together, the two left the pavilion, with the steward courteously seeing them off at the door.
They walked in silence for a while before Ji An spoke again:
"Senior Sister, I can still lend you another fifteen hundred spirit stones."
That would leave him with just over two hundred as an emergency reserve.
Li Lingyu turned to look at him, surprise flickering in her eyes. Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer than usual, carrying a trace of warmth and wonder.
"Thank you, Junior Brother," she said softly.
...
The next day, they took the sect's flying vessel back home.
Upon returning, Ji An found Huang Feihu and handed him a hundred spirit stones to keep for future purchases and supplies.
From that day onward, Ji An's life settled into quiet focus. Aside from his daily visits to the courtyard by Bishui Lake to tend the spirit plants, he spent the rest of his time in secluded cultivation at Verdant Cliff.
A month passed in a flash.
One afternoon, he was in his bamboo loft, practicing spells. Tiny motes of golden light danced around his fingertips like drifting grains of sand when a silver message talisman descended from the sky, stopping at the edge of his formation barrier.
He dispersed his technique, opened the restriction, and summoned the sword talisman into his hand.
The message was from Ye Changqing, informing him that the Chen clan had officially vacated Crimson Flame Peak and asking when Ji An would like to move in. Ye would accompany him to handle the handover.
Ji An took out a fresh message talisman and replied that he would head to Lingxiao Mountain the next morning.
He clenched his fist lightly, a glint of determination in his eyes.
"It's time to leave. A new beginning awaits."
Then, sinking his consciousness into his dantian, he checked his progress:
[Techniques]
Sharp Metal Art: Perfection (86%)
Golden Armor Technique: Small Accomplishment (64%)
Flamefire Incantation: Perfection (27%)
Exploding Fireball Art: Small Accomplishment (72%)
Ever since his falling out with Chen Xingyun, Ji An had reflected on his own combat readiness and realized he'd shown far too many of his cards in public.
Anyone who did even a little digging into him would quickly learn that he was skilled in the Geng Metal Finger and Water Curtain Technique.
If someone ever bore him ill intent, they could easily craft a strategy to counter those specific arts, which would put him at a great disadvantage.
Based on the techniques he cultivated now, Ji An decided that from here on, he would only reveal his proficiency in Wood- and Fire-type spells. Those two were the most common choices for cultivators of Wood-element methods, and thus would not draw suspicion.
"Never harbor the intent to harm others, but never forget to guard against them either."
Ji An realized that, in his pursuit of profit, he had grown careless, showing too much of his hand and losing the caution that once kept him alive. That wouldn't happen again.
...
The next day, Ji An rode his new spirit skiff toward Lingxiao Mountain.
He tested the artifact's maximum speed mode, and sure enough, it was astonishingly fast, more than twice as quick as riding his beast. The downside was the staggering consumption of spirit stones. Unless it was an emergency, steady flight or beast riding was the practical choice.
When he reached Lingxiao Mountain, Ye Changqing was already waiting. The elder released a flying vessel, brought along several disciples, and invited Ji An to join the group.
"The spiritual vein of Crimson Flame Peak is rather special," Ye explained along the way.
"All the spirit fields lie at the foot of the mountain. Only the area near the Cold Pool, about thirty mu, can support spirit herbs. That entire stretch will be your private field."
"Because the local spiritual energy is so fierce, low-grade herbs can't survive, and even high-grade ones don't grow well.
Most of the mountain is only suitable for cultivating spirit wood, which yields better returns.
"That's one reason this second-grade lower spiritual vein has remained unclaimed all these years."
Ye took out a jade slip and continued:
"Since you're leasing the entire peak, you'll need to submit an annual tribute of spirit fish and spirit charcoal to the sect, and every five years, a quota of refined spiritual materials.
You'll have to rely on your planting skills; otherwise, all your hard work will earn little more than a handful of contribution points and stones."
He handed the jade slip to Ji An.
"I've organized all the details here. Starting next year, these regulations will take effect."
...
When they arrived at Crimson Flame Peak, Ji An found that everything of value had already been stripped away, leaving behind nothing but an empty mountain that would need to be refitted from the ground up.
The main cave-dwelling sat halfway up the mountain. Only that spot, along with the area near the Cold Pool, reached the second-grade spiritual density.
Elsewhere, the concentration of spiritual energy barely reached upper- or top-tier first grade.
The peak itself wasn't very large: the farmlands at its base totaled just over three thousand mu.
Ye Changqing took Ji An on a quick flight around the mountain, pointing out the various spirit wood zones and explaining the growth patterns. Afterward, they finalized the transfer and lease contract, completing all the sect's formalities.
Finally, the two came to the Cold Pool. Ye pulled out an ornate jade bottle and said with a grin:
"I'll fetch a bit of the spring water from the bottom."
He formed a few hand seals and stepped directly into the water. The liquid parted around him, leaving him completely dry as he descended.
A short while later, he emerged calmly from the pool, sealed the jade bottle, and clasped his hands in farewell.
"The spiritual energy here is a bit too violent for my liking," he said with an easy smile.
"I'll take my leave first. When you have time, Junior Brother, come visit Lingxiao Mountain. We'll share tea and discuss the Dao."
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