Chapter 674 - 532: Top-grade Gathering Essence Tree (2)

As he spoke, he gestured the sword technique, a flash of silver light appeared, and the hard Li Fire Crystal split into two.

The luster of the Phoenix Stone was somewhat different from that of the Li Fire Crystal. Ji An could tell at a glance that there were two Phoenix Stones two inches apart.

One was as large as a pigeon egg, and the other as a bean.

Jia Yu grinned widely, "Just these two pieces of Phoenix Stone are worth rewarding everyone with a little extra merit."

He took out a blank Jade Slip and began recording the gathered resources. Once all who participated in the search returned, the tally showed eight Tier Three spiritual objects.

Li Haoran exchanged for a piece of Geng Metal as large as a soybean, leaving happily.

The quality of the Geng Metal was close to Tier Three Middle Grade, which is a favorite spiritual object for sword cultivators as it greatly increases the sharpness of flying swords.

To achieve "One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques," a good flying sword is essential.

Jia Yu put away the resources and cupped his hands, saying:

"I won’t disturb you any longer, the Sect Leader Ancestor is still waiting for my report."

Ji An nodded slightly, "Farewell!"

...

In the Quiet Chamber of the grotto mansion, Ji An stretched lazily, "Finally, I can relax a bit now."

He drank a pot of Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea, sat down cross-legged, and let his mind sink into his Dantian while linking with the Stone Turtle, where clear words appeared in the Sea of Consciousness.

[Master: Ji An]

[Dao Rhyme: Metal 30.8, Water 29.6, Wood 29.2, Fire 31.4, Earth 29.9]

[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 14.5, Gen Spirit 12782.4, Zhen Spirit 586.8, Xun Spirit 465.4, Kun Spirit 487.6, Qian Spirit 328.4, Dui Spirit 9538.7, Li Spirit 82.5]

[Magic Technique: Spirit Sealing Technique (Perfection 31%)

Spirit Roar (Great Success 66%)

Silk Thread Spell (Perfection 1%)

Earth Vein Spirit Ascension Spell (Perfection 23%)

Cyan Dragon Water Moon Technique (Perfection 40%)

Azure Sky Yangming Technique (Perfection 26%)

Metal Divine Thunder (Perfection 21%)

Yi Wood God Thunder (Great Success 25%)

Melt Gold Divine Fire Technique (Minor Achievement 56%)

Yi Wood Spirit Stealing Skill (Minor Achievement 7%)]

Great harvest!

The amount of Dao Rhyme acquired reveals a lot. The Five Elements Spirit Mechanism at Red Flame Peak became more harmonious, turning it into a treasure land.

Previously, the Dao Rhyme absorbed by the Stone Turtle was overwhelmingly fire and metal, but now they are more balanced.

The Gourd World is a world with balanced Five Elements, possessing higher potential.

The birth of a world is not about having a surplus of a Five Element power; such extremities can cause adverse phenomena. Balance is the key.

The Dao Rhyme quantity also indicates that the Spirit Vein Grade reaching Tier Three yields more Dao Rhyme than a cultivator’s Golden Core Thunder Tribulation.

Ji An held the Gourd Stone in his hand and issued a command:

"Refine all the Dao Rhyme and nurture the Gourd World."

The Stone Turtle swallowed the Gourd Stone into its mouth, with black Eight Trigrams patterns on its shell flashing radiantly.

Half an hour passed, the Stone Turtle spat the stone out and returned to the Dantian.

Impatiently, Ji An entered the Little World. There were not many changes here; clearly, the Spirit Vein’s grade hadn’t improved.

However, there were pleasing changes in the Gathering Essence Tree.

It had grown about two feet taller and sprouted more branches, with the leaves becoming more lustrous.

The Wuji Xinghuang Banner flew out of his body, quickly transforming into a Qilin stepping on auspicious yellow clouds, escaping into the dense foliage of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Tree.

A heavy and deep roar resonated through the Little World, causing the earth to tremble.

Ji An guessed the outcome but still darted to check the change in life force by placing his hand on the trunk.

"Tier Two Upper-Grade Spirit Wood, I suspect we’ve found a fake Heaven and Earth Spirit Root!"

According to the inherited knowledge, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root is an existence that surpasses Tier Four Treasure Plants.

This spirit plant has a long lifespan and typically slow growth, yet here in the Gourd World, it astonishingly grew to Tier Two Upper-Grade in just a few decades, making it hard for him to believe it was so smooth.

What is different about the Gourd World?

Ji An began pondering, the Gourd Stone originally shouldn’t have nurtured a Little World, which was later fostered into reality by the Stone Turtle’s "nurturing."

Normally, a Little World will have various characteristics, making it impossible for the power of the Five Elements to be so balanced, yet the Gourd World achieved this.

The birth of this world is all thanks to the Stone Turtle; what power did it use to create the Little World?

The answer lies in the use of Spiritual Mechanisms and Dao Rhyme, with Dao Rhyme playing a far greater role.

Ji An roughly understood why the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root grew so rapidly; it must have absorbed some Dao Rhyme.

He decided to experiment next time he acquires Dao Rhyme, to see if the Stone Turtle could independently enhance the grade of a specific spirit plant.

If that’s possible, it could swiftly cultivate a spirit plant to Tier Three.

Thinking of this, Ji An’s heart burst with excitement.

After a while, a sense of regret arose within him. The Gathering Essence Tree positively affects spirit plants and veins, but it bears no fruit.

If it reaches Tier Four, it might bloom Five-Colored Flowers, used in alchemy, but he knew nothing about what spirit medicine could be refined from it.

Five-Colored Flowers are things only Nascent Soul cultivators can access, and there is no detailed record in the sect’s purchased inheritance.

From the Nascent Soul Realm level, cultivators focus more on the cultivation of the Spirit Soul, the Five-Colored Flower should have an effect akin to the Soul Nourishing Wood, but stronger.

For Ji An, cultivating the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root to Tier Four was still too distant; he no longer concerned himself with such distant matters and began cultivating the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture under the spirit tree.

The effect of cultivating here was better than at Red Flame Peak, as the spiritual Qi seemed purer, more conducive to transforming into magical power and nourishing the blood and body.

However, with the Spirit Vein at Red Flame Peak now upgraded to Tier Three, he would often cultivate in the grotto mansion in the future too.

As the cultivation technique ran, the Gourd World became an ocean of five-colored light dots, with various Spiritual Mechanisms hidden within the earth and plants being drawn by Ji An’s breathing.

Spiritual Qi coursed along a specific path within the Immortal Vein like rushing water, quickly liquefying.

After liquefaction, it successively entered the Five Elements Divine Mansion, eventually being refined into Crystal Sand.

...

The next day, Daoist Master Zhengyang came to the Red Flame Peak and beckoned Ji An to explore the volcano’s interior together.

The two carefully searched inside the magma lake and found several winding passages leading downward.

However, due to the harsh environment, their control over magical treasures only allowed them to last about half an hour inside, making prolonged exploration impossible.

With it upgraded to Tier Three, the potential damage from lava significantly increased.

After several hours, the two were exhausted and returned to the lakeshore. Ji An asked:

"Senior Brother, you seem to be looking for something. Can you tell me what it is?"

Daoist Master Zhengyang tidied his robe, saying:

"I thought you would ask that question while searching inside the magma lake, but I didn’t expect you to hold back for so long."

Ji An pouted in response:

"Actually, I shouldn’t ask. If you could tell me, you would naturally do so. If you can’t, asking won’t make you say it."

Clearly, the other believed there was some treasure within the magma lake, but seeking treasure in a Tier Three lake was no easy task, so they returned empty-handed.

He had some curiosity about it, but not much.

In terms of secrets he carried, he felt no one in the entire sect had more than him.

"Hehe, I didn’t deliberately keep it secret, just verifying a suspicion. Finding something is incidental."

Daoist Master Zhengyang stood up, "It seems the conditions aren’t mature; I need to think of other ways to delve deeper into the passages.

Junior Brother, if you have time, you could explore more, perhaps there will be unexpected discoveries."

Ji An shook his head, "Exploring under such conditions is a labor-intensive and thankless task. If you won’t tell me what one could obtain, I won’t do it."

"What if I said there might be Tier Three spiritual objects inside? Would Junior Brother have more interest?"

Ji An smiled and firmly shook his head:

"I know some Tier Three spiritual objects spewed out during the Red Flame Peak’s eruption, but picking and looking for things are two different concepts.

Moreover, compared to the uncertain payoff, I’m not interested in the little Tier Three spiritual objects I might gain."

The situation within the magma lake was already essentially understood; even if there were spiritual objects, they would be in those passages.

Considering his current capabilities and resources, there was no hope for deeply exploring them.

Daoist Master Zhengyang: "..."

Among the sect, only the person in front of him qualified to claim disinterest in Tier Three spiritual objects.