Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 162: Chapter 159: Giving Up

“The disciples who participate in the duel will be rewarded based on their victories, with a maximum of five hundred thousand Contribution Points, one thousand Small Merits, fifty Great Merits, and several spiritual objects suited to their realm, enough to sustain the refining needs of two to three small realms.”

“Disciples can submit the tokens from exterminating demon beasts to the local Law Enforcement Hall to earn points. The details of the points system are…”

Lin Jiuxiao spoke slowly, while Ji An’s attention wandered off, not listening further.

The rewards offered by the sect are not enticing enough for him, because he knows with his current strength, he cannot hope for the highest rewards; if he had the Defensive Spiritual Artifact, apricot yellow Banner, there might be a chance.

If he stays at Mingfeng Mountain for three or four years, the harvest of Spirit Wood at Red Flame Peak will be significantly reduced, as the output there is genuinely within his grasp, while the sect’s rewards are akin to flowers in water.

Most importantly, he is at a critical stage now, and several planting techniques like Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell will gradually reach the Great Perfection Level over these years.

If he does not stay at Red Flame Peak, the cultivation of Tier Two Red Cloud Pine will stagnate; nurturing Spirit Wood with Fire Element Essence is one aspect, but his daily use of the Flame Fire Spell at the Great Perfection Level is also a crucial part.

Moreover, without his daily application of Jade Wood Transformation Skill and Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell, the yields of Jade Leaf Mulberry and Copper Patterned Mulberry would be greatly reduced.

To Ji An, the losses may be equivalent to the gains, so staying here to hunt demon beasts becomes meaningless.

Mingfeng Mountain is a Tier Two Upper-grade Spiritual Vein, but it will inevitably be divided into multiple regions, and the core area is out of reach for a Foundation Establishment Junior Cultivator like him.

Daily hunting of demon beasts will certainly lower the efficiency of the Stone Turtle in absorbing Spiritual Mechanism.

The Spiritual Vein Node at Red Flame Peak reaches Tier Two Middle Grade, but it’s enjoyed solely by him, having the complete range of Spiritual Mechanism to maximize the Stone Turtle’s effectiveness.

Considering all this, Ji An decides to forgo participating in this duel and return to Red Flame Peak to quietly develop.

…

After the internal meeting concluded, Ji An returned to his camp.

Zhong Yue said, “This time the rewards for the duel are much better than the last one. Does Senior Brother Ji have any interest in staying here to hunt demon beasts?”

In his view, Ji An’s Fire Element Technique is quite exquisite, capable of grasping fleeting battle opportunities.

A cultivator like him, if participating in the early-stage Foundation Establishment duel, would still have many opportunities to be selected and secure several victorious rounds.

The only shortcoming is the lack of a Spiritual Artifact accompanying him.

Ji An gently waved his hand, saying:

“I still feel it is more stable to stay in the sect and cultivate in the Spirit Field, so I won’t participate in the demon slaying rankings.”

Han Qingshan echoed, “Senior Brother’s words make sense. With your planting technique mastery, wandering outside for three or four years would entail considerable loss.”

He was deeply impressed after witnessing Ji An’s technique level.

Zhong Yue shook his head slightly, thinking that in a few years, when the demon calamity breaks out, there will be no sanctuary in the Western Continent; even Spirit Farmers may have to be summoned for combat duties later.

Ji An took out the Black Wind Wolf Demon Core from his storage bag and said:

“Senior Brother Zhong, the hide of a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast can be used to make a Tier One Top-grade Talisman. As a Talisman Maker, could I have the beast hide?

I can buy it with Spirit Stones or exchange it for top-grade Bursting Talismans.”

Since yesterday was a group operation, the materials from the slain late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast have already been handed over to the sect in exchange for corresponding Contribution Points.

Today, the Black Wind Wolf was a collaborative kill by three people, with a share of contributions from Zhong Yue among them.

As for Ge Luoying’s portion, he would find an opportunity to return it.

The materials from a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast, while precious, are not worth incurring a personal favor.

“Today’s Black Wind Wolf kill. Most of the credit goes to Senior Brother and Senior Sister; I didn’t play any crucial role, so I won’t take part in the distribution of the loot.”

“That’s not right.”

Ji An shook his head, as the other party did participate in the fight, he should get a share, no matter how small.

After much discussion between them, they finally reached an agreement where Ji An handed over fifteen Bursting Talismans to Zhong Yue, keeping all the demon beast materials.

…

The next day.

Jia Yu gathered all the Spirit Farmers together and said:

“We’ve harvested a lot of Spirit Plants on Mingfeng Mountain, and from today we’ll need to begin constructing the Immortal City; the sect has decided to assign the transplanting task to you.

As such, you will leave together with the flying ship and return to the sect.

We now face a rather thorny issue; since many Spirit Plants were found, transplanting requires a large number of Sealing Spirit Talismans which we don’t have enough of.

If any of you have Sealing Spirit Talismans, you can submit them to the sect, each one exchanged for three hundred Contribution Points.”

Sealing Spirit Talismans are somewhat uncommon to use; only Spirit Farmers are typically equipped with them.

Upon hearing they could soon return to the sect, the Spirit Farmers eagerly handed in their stored Sealing Spirit Talismans.

Jia Yu frowned at the count, as it totaled less than two hundred, far from enough.

Ji An stood up and said:

“I report to Junior Martial Uncle, I am a Talisman Maker, capable of drawing Sealing Spirit Talismans.”

Though he had no experience in drawing Sealing Spirit Talismans, he saw this as an opportunity to practice extensively and improve his proficiency in drawing them.

Sealing Spirit Talismans are extremely unstable when drawn on Talisman Paper; they need to be drawn on Beast Hide.

This time, a large number of Black Wind Wolves were slain, so there was no shortage of low-tier Beast Hide.

At this critical moment, the sect should provide the materials, right?

Jia Yu’s eyes lit up, and with a smile, said:

“Excellent, I will notify the other disciples to quickly process the Beast Hide and make Talisman Ink.

Successful drawing of each Sealing Spirit Talisman awards thirty Contribution Points.”

“I will live up to the sect’s trust!”

Ji An replied decisively, then took out the Cyan Yang Talisman Manual to secretly learn how to draw Sealing Spirit Talismans while others prepared the materials.

More than twenty other Talisman Makers were also tasked with the same mission.

…

Ten days later.

Han Qingshan walked into the simple wooden hut, smiling:

“Senior Brother Ji, Junior Martial Uncle Jia asked me to inform everyone that the Sealing Spirit Talismans are sufficient now.”

Ji An let out a wail and put down his Talisman Brush, giving up on drawing the last talisman.

The sect’s urgency had forced him to work overtime these past days, and he supposed other Talisman Makers had similarly been working around the clock.

His divine sense far surpasses those of the same tier cultivators; other Talisman Makers are likely to have it even tougher.

At this moment, Ji An only felt a tearing sensation in his head, a sign of excessive consumption of divine sense.

These days, he has to draw a hundred talismans daily, with an average success rate of slightly over forty percent.

He pressed hard on his temples, thinking of purchasing some spirit medicine or similar items that could speed up the recovery of divine sense if possible.

Han Qingshan walked up to him and said:

“Senior Brother, in the past few days, other Spirit Farmers have gradually left with the sect’s flying ship, and we are the last batch.

The flying ship is currently loading the last batch of spirit plants, and soon we will be able to set off.”

He paused for a moment, then added:

“There aren’t many Spirit Farmers left now, and we still need Senior Brother’s involvement in the transplant work.”

’They’re really treating me like a black slave!’

Ji An grimaced, waved his hand, and said:

“Let me meditate for a while and recover my spirit.”

The headache was truly severe, and casting spells at the moment might not last long.

“Senior Brother’s condition is the priority.”

Han Qingshan responded, pulled up a chair, and sat down to wait.

Ji An sat cross-legged on a pudun, calming his mind, emptying his thoughts as much as possible, visualizing clouds gathering and drifting high in the sky with the wind.

After two quarters of an hour, he felt the pain subside significantly and exhaled a long breath.

“Senior Brother Han, let’s go.”

The sooner the transplant task is completed, the sooner they can return to the sect.

…

Ji An walked out of the wooden house and found that Mingfeng Mountain had changed dramatically.

The cultivators had built grotto mansions based on the terrain, and now they had reached halfway up the mountain.

He gave a bitter smile and said:

“These days I’ve been indoors drawing talismans all the time, and now I feel as if a lifetime has passed in that short period.”

In just a few days, a mountain city had been built to this extent; if nothing unexpected happens, it will be open to outsiders by next month.

Immortal Cultivators, when it comes to construction, are definitely experts.

Han Qingshan smiled and said:

“Array Masters have divided many areas based on positions of the spirit vein nodes, each area having varying concentrations of spiritual qi.

The shops and grotto mansions in all regions are meant to be rented or sold, naturally distinguishing into different grades.”

The work of refining arrays must be prioritized; otherwise, the construction speed will be even faster.”

Ji An patted his Spirit Beast Bag, releasing a grey-feathered sand goose, and noticed Han Qingshan’s beast, saying:

“Senior Brother Han’s mount is also a sand goose?”

“The sand goose has a broad back, making it more comfortable for riding.”

Ji An nodded lightly, confirming the other’s practicality.

The two mounted their beasts, and Han Qingshan said:

“Senior Brother, the places where you can still see plants are where the spirit plants need to be transplanted.”

Spirit grass and spirit wood with little use had long been harvested, making way for the construction plan of the Immortal City.

Ji An nodded and said:

“Let’s split up.”

…

Ji An landed and asked:

“What’s going on?”

He saw a group surrounding the Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo, not making any moves to transplant, unsure of what they were up to.

“Senior Brother, this kind of spiritual bamboo is called Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo, and they can alter their growth environment.

The surface of the ground is as hard as refined iron, and we can’t cut through it.”

A Foundation Establishment Spirit Farmer replied, having attempted to cut it forcibly, but such a method would harm the spirit plant, as the bamboo stalks themselves aren’t particularly hard.

He was sternly warned by Li Haoran, who emphasized that the spirit plant must not be damaged in any way, making his skin tingle at the time from the piercing Sword Intent.

Ji An raised an eyebrow slightly; the Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo indeed has such characteristics, with surface soil having a mixture of earth element spirit qi and gold element spirit qi, making it extremely hard.

To transplant, the hard clod must be nurtured to soften.

Ji An formed a spell, releasing the Flame Fire Spell.

Fire generates earth and melts gold, but the Flame Fire Spell belongs to Ding Fire, not as fierce, yet it can increase soil permeability and activate gold element spirit qi.

Orange-red spirit light spread over the ground, and the people nearby felt as if they were sitting around a warm campfire.

’An expert!’

Liu Qingfeng’s heart skipped; Li Haoran’s aggressiveness had left him displeased. In his view, given that the top-tier spirit farmers of the sect did not accompany this trip to Mingfeng Mountain, perfect transplantation of the Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo was impossible.

He planned to delay here, watching how Li Haoran would end up, likely having to resort to brute force eventually.

Ji An waited for the Fire Spirit Light to fade, formed a spell to release the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell, using Ji Earth Technique Intent to nourish and soften the soil.

Yellow spirit light enveloped the area, rendering the soil as moist as yellow jade.

Ji An repeated the spell process twice, then grabbed the fine soil and said:

“You can proceed with the transplant now.”

Liu Qingfeng came over, smiled, and said:

“I am Liu Qingfeng; Senior Brother’s talents are admirable. May I know your esteemed name?”

He mused to himself:

’When did such a figure emerge, and why hadn’t I heard a word about it before? The circle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Farmers isn’t that large.’