Chapter 118 - 89: Further Advancement of the Divine Technique, a New Innate Talent, Dominating the Earth Dragon Cave, Here to Hunt Monsters, Awing the Masters Outside the County

Chapter 118: Chapter 89: Further Advancement of the Divine Technique, a New Innate Talent, Dominating the Earth Dragon Cave, Here to Hunt Monsters, Awing the Masters Outside the County

[Magic and Divine Technique: Mountain and Sea Search!]

[Refinement Progress: 26%]

[As for Divine Techniques, they are skills ’born of heaven and nurtured by earth.’ One must personally practice them and cultivate them to Perfection to fully grasp the Profound Mystery of the Jade Talisman.]

[The Tutor has assumed the ’Mountain’ position of ’Mountain and Sea Search.’ By successfully walking this path, your ’Mountain Search’ progress has greatly increased from 7%→26%!]

[The progress for the ’Mountain Search’ authority has passed the halfway mark, granting a new Innate Talent: ’Qi Observation’!]

[Innate Talent: Qi Observation]

[All things in the world possess a spirit. When the Tutor travels through the mountains, upon seeing any spiritual object—be it a wild treasure, a Spirit Monster, or a Demon—they can use their eyes of ’Spiritual Sense’ to perceive its origins and every detail.]

Spiritual Sense, Qi Observation!

’See every detail about mountain treasures, Spirit Medicines, and even Spirit Monsters and Demons?’

Ji Xiu’s eyes narrowed, completely shocked.

The five-hundred-li Mountain Dao was filled with miasma and ferocious beasts.

The Hunters and Martial Artists of Anning County didn’t dare to venture deep into the mountains, even when they did enter.

And if they ran into a Centennial Demon comparable to the Skin Refining level, they would die without even knowing how.

Ordinary Skin Refining Martial Artists would just stay in the Hunting Manor Mountain Towns and wait to reap the rewards. They’d let the miserable Hunters and low-level Martial Artists risk life and limb to sneak into the mountain forests and find Treasure Medicines suitable for Skin Refining. Then, they would simply buy the treasures with silver coins, enjoying the fruits of others’ labor.

While this allowed them to get their hands on overlooked treasures every now and then, it also limited the hunting grounds for Anning County’s Eighteen Linked Mountain Towns and manors to the outskirts of the Mountain Dao.

In other words,

The closer to the Earth Dragon Cave the mountain forests were, the more Treasure Medicines they held.

Perhaps... there might even be an ’Earth Treasure’!

A single, complete Earth Treasure, if sold in the Prefecture City, could fetch a price in ’Red Gold’.

Some could be refined by Pill Masters into ’Qi Dao Treasure Pills,’ ranked as Sixth-Grade Qi Pills or higher.

And if one had a recipe for a ’Secret Treasure Medicine’ to polish the Flesh, Bone, Skin, and Membrane, like the Jade Dew Medicinal Powder, it could even be used by a Powerful Martial Artist for their Foundation Establishment.

Whether it was for Bone Marrow, Bone Tempering, or Skin Refining...

...the effects were several times better than a Treasure Pill of the same grade!

These recipes were all treasured collections of the Grand Lineages, Daoist Schools, and even the major Schools of Jiangyin Prefecture. They were the very foundation upon which these groups were established and were almost never circulated in the outside world.

This point alone was enough to show how precious they were!

But the root of it all was still the Treasure Materials themselves.

Imagine it.

When ordinary Martial Artists risked their lives to barely search a hundred li of the Mountain Dao, considering themselves richly rewarded for finding a Great Medicine for Bone Marrow or Bone Tempering...

...Ji Xiu, with his Spiritual Sense and mastery of Qi Observation, would know of all dangers and Spiritual Mechanisms long before they appeared.

He used to need Gu Baichuan to accompany him on a Mountain Hunt just to feel a bit of confidence, but now...

...Ji Xiu felt he could walk through the depths near the Earth Dragon Cave as if it were flat ground!

’The Eighteen Road Chief, in charge of the mountain towns and hunting manors across the five hundred li of the Mountain Dao near the Earth Dragon Cave?’

’If we’re talking about skill and ability alone...’

’...then besides me, there’s truly no one who can compare!’

’Lord Zhao the County Magistrate truly has a keen eye for talent!’

As Zhao Jiu strode over from the head of the hall and took hold of his hands.

Under the watchful eyes of all present, he promised Ji Xiu that from now on, he would replace the Three Great Gangs in their role and status. Ji Xiu would assume the title of ’General Leader,’ managing the trade for the Eighteen Linked Mountain Towns and hunting manors under the jurisdiction of Anning County.

In that moment, as Ji Xiu watched the progress of the Magic and Divine Technique branded on his Jade Talisman surge, his mind reeled with a flurry of thoughts.

And his slightly dazed expression...

...in Zhao Jiu’s eyes, looked like someone who had been stunned senseless by this ’heaven-sent fortune.’

At that, Lord Zhao the County Magistrate glanced at Cai Ling’Er behind Ji Xiu, looking utterly pleased with himself.

’Little girl, your Master Jiu has ten years on you. I’m much better at this game of "nothing ventured, nothing gained"!’

In Jiangyin Prefecture, the upper limit of Martial Power was determined by the founding Qi Sea Grandmasters who had broken the Shackles of the Daoist Schools to establish their own ’Schools.’

But what determined widespread connections and flourishing business...

...were the Thirty-Six Professions that encompassed all trades!

As the young master of a Wine Shop that used its Spirit Wine business to curry favor with the fiefdoms of the province and the magnates of Jiangyin, Zhao Jiu had been raised with a ’businessman’s’ mindset since childhood.

’As the saying goes: the whole world hustles and bustles, all for the sake of profit.’

’On my little patch of turf here in Anning County, I don’t have much, but I do have a little power!’

’A pretty face is just a bag of bones. At the end of the day, it’s just a fleeting pleasure. How can that possibly compete with the real capital I’m willing to invest for mutual benefit?’

In the past, the Three Great Gangs would pay him three to four thousand taels of silver in tribute each year. Add to that his cut from the apprentices of the Three Major Professions and the Four Great Halls...

...it would just barely net him a yearly income of a ’hundred taels of Red Gold.’ The conditions were harsh, but back in the Prefecture City, a post like this was already considered a top position within a profession.

’Worst case, I earn a little less. It’s worth it to let my dear brother from another mother know how good I am to him. He needs to understand that following the path of my Jiangyin Wine Shop is the only way he’ll get his share of the spoils!’

’Once we wipe out Central Yellow and my accomplishments are reported, I’ll be transferred back to the Prefecture.’ Zhao Jiu mused. ’Then I’ll persuade my old man to treat the feud between master and disciple as a separate matter, to bury the hatchet. In a few more years, when it’s a certainty that this kid will become a ’Qi Barrier Grandmaster’...’

’...a mere three thousand silver taels a year is only enough to buy a house in the Prefecture. Using that to rope in a prodigy who has a ninety-nine percent chance of reaching the Qi Barrier in the future? This is a profitable deal!’

’Anyway, as long as I’m in office, I can slice up and divide the Anning County ’cake’ however I please.’

’I’ve got people in high places. These so-called Wind and Cloud Associations, or the Three Great Halls—whose backing could possibly be as solid as mine?’

’They all have to shut their mouths for Master Jiu!’

This speech, in effect, called out Lu Chengfeng, Wei Dinchang, and Xuu Manor.