Chapter 742 - 583: Golden Leaf Padauk

"I guessed you would choose to take ten sets of materials, so I was already prepared."

Feiyun Zhenren took out a Storage Bag, "Go ahead and count the number of herbs. Additionally, there’s one thing to inform you, Daoist Friend. Since you have the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire, the price of each Pill you refine will go up by two Top-grade Spirit Stones, and the Contribution Points increase by two as well."

She placed the Storage Bag on the desk, gave her wrist a shake, and the Storage Bag slid in front of the counterpart.

"Sounds not too bad," Ji An replied with a smile, considering the treatment given by Yunhai Auction House, the association’s offer is a bit low.

But he never expected to be treated fairly in a situation where the strengths were unequal. It was already good to have a sip of soup.

He quickly checked the materials and nodded slightly:

"No problem, the quality of the herbs is up to standard. I will submit the Pills in five days."

"Very well, since the association is providing the herbs, we require at least a fifty percent success rate, meaning that from ten sets of materials, you need to submit at least twenty-five ordinary quality Pills.

If the quality of the Pills is high, you can receive a compensation of five Top-grade Spirit Stones for the price difference..."

Feiyun Zhenren went over all the detailed terms and took out a Jade Slip, "Let’s sign the agreement."

Ji An left a Magical Mark on the Jade Slip and then collected the Storage Bag, hanging it at his waist.

"The headquarters of the association conducts an assessment of the heads of each branch every five years. Your Pill Formula has been a great help to me. In a few years, I should be able to return to the headquarters to take a position.

A little gift, I hope you will like it."

Feiyun Zhenren took out a Jade Slip and a crescent-shaped Wooden Box, using the Object Control Technique to send it in front of Ji An.

Ji An was somewhat surprised; he received the items and smiled, saying:

"Thank you, Daoist Friend, for being busy with the Pill Formula matter. It should be me giving you a gift."

Feiyun Zhenren replied solemnly:

"I cannot deny that I have profited more because of this, please take a look."

Ji An first placed the Jade Slip on his forehead and extended his Divine Sense to read the information inside.

It recorded a formula for Incense, the main ingredients being Golden Leaf Padauk powder and leaves of Soul Nourishing Wood, and it is refined with six types of Spirit Medicine.

The main ingredients used are of Tier Three quality; it’s a high-quality Incense for recovering Divine Sense, and Ji An judged that its effect should be much better than Soul Incense Formula of the Sect.

The other auxiliary herbs are relatively common Spirit Medicine for calming the spirit and purifying the soul, but he had no source to obtain Golden Leaf Padauk as a raw material.

He set down the Jade Slip, gently rubbed his hands, anticipating what this ’blind box’ would yield.

Upon lifting the lid, he saw inside a seed the size of a soybean.

The seed was spindle-shaped, entirely purple, with faint golden patterns on the surface, and its purple-golden hue exuded an inexplicable sense of nobility.

He reached out and pinched the seed, feeling the strength of the life energy inside, equivalent to Tier Three Middle Grade.

Ji An shook his head, "I don’t recognize what kind of seed this is."

He could only say it wasn’t a familiar Spirit Fruit Seed; it seemed somewhat like a Spirit Medicine.

Feiyun Zhenren blinked and smiled:

"I once heard you speak about your Sect on the Western Continent, so I carefully selected this formula.

As for this seed, it’s naturally a Spirit Seed of Golden Leaf Padauk. Why else would I give out a formula that’s flashy but useless?"

The other party had cultivated Soul Nourishing Wood in the Sect on the Western Continent, and now with the addition of Golden Leaf Padauk, the formula for Incense had significant long-term potential.

She had chosen this gift carefully, so it could compare to the significance of the Fire Element Pill Formula.

Ji An’s eyes widened suddenly, then slowly restrained them, cupping his hands:

"Daoist Friend, this gift is very meaningful to me, and I truly like it."

For both his Sect and personally, this formula was invaluable and had enormous potential to tap into.

Most importantly, he would soon be able to use it.

Planting the seed of Golden Leaf Padauk in the Gourd World would only take about ten years to cultivate it to Tier Three Lower Grade.

"I’m glad you like it. By the way, do you have any small techniques on refining the Fire Element Pill?"

Many Alchemy techniques aren’t reflected in the Pill Formula, which poses higher challenges for Alchemists. Knowing these techniques allows Alchemists to avoid many detours.

"Just as I was planning to tell you, I used a special method when refining Pine Nut Divine Essence..."

Ji An generously shared some small techniques. Firstly, the Golden Leaf Padauk had a much larger impact on him than the other imagined, and secondly, if other Alchemists refined more Fire Element Pills, he could also benefit.

Even the slightest benefit, if extended long enough and with a large enough base, could become massive wealth.

Feiyun Zhenren listened seriously, nodding and smiling, thinking that the gift was worth it. Without sending this gift, it might have been hard to obtain these insights.

Both parties engaged in friendly exchanges about Alchemy, the atmosphere was harmonious, and both felt quite rewarding until interrupted by a maid who entered.

The maid approached Feiyun Zhenren and whispered:

"Steward, two Daoist Masters have scheduled appointments with you, but they’ve been waiting for over half a double hour. Should they continue to wait?"

Feiyun Zhenren’s face flashed with astonishment and then turned to say:

"I was so engrossed in conversation with Daoist Friend that I lost track of time, let’s stop for today, I need to meet the other Daoist Masters."

She felt a bit regretful, as it was uncertain when there might be another opportunity for such a harmonious gathering in the future.

Ji An rose and cupped his hands:

"Fellow Daoist, you must be very busy, let’s talk another time. Goodbye!"

He politely declined the other’s farewell and left with large strides.

After leaving the Certification Association, he immediately flew on a cloud to Yunhai Pharmacy.

Among the materials for incense, there are still a few spirit medicines not cultivated in the Little World. He bought spirit seeds to plant now.

Actually, these spirit medicines can all be purchased, but the medicinal properties of externally grown spirit medicines are naturally slightly inferior to those grown in the Little World; for personal use, one should of course choose the best.

The subtle differences in effect can accumulate over time to reveal a significant gap.

Ji An relayed the missing types of spirit medicines to the approaching steward, "Twenty seeds of each of these."

"As you wish, senior, please wait a moment while I go to the warehouse to fetch them."

The steward had an impression of Ji An, as there aren’t many Golden Core Daoist Masters who frequently come to buy spirit seeds, so he remembered him well.

...

Ji An flew back to his grotto mansion at Black Stone Mountain, feeling quite elated.

Regardless of who benefited more from today’s trade with Feiyun Zhenren, the gift-giving indicated that their personal friendship had reached a new level, which would benefit his future development.

After entering the Quiet Chamber, he took off the Gourd Stone Pendant and held it in the palm of his hand, quickly entering the Little World.

The Golden Leaf Padauk is an Earth Element spirit plant; while not a treasure plant, it can be cultivated to Tier Three Upper Grade or even Top-Grade levels. Ji An decided to plant it behind the Soul Nourishing Wood.

He successively released the Earth Vein Spirit Ascension Technique and the Green Dragon Water Moon Skill, a round moon appeared in the Little World, and the serene moonlight bathed everything, exuding a special tranquility.

The Cyan Lotus Treasure Banner transformed into a Cyan Dragon, resembling the Yin-Yang Fish of the Taiji Diagram, chasing each other around the Gathering Essence Tree.

Amidst the dragon’s roar, a shimmering, moist spirit rain began to fall, with mist rising.

As the magic’s effects dissipated, the Golden Leaf Padauk had grown to a height of one and a half feet, its bark a light purple and its leaves a pale yellow.

With its increasing age, its leaves will gradually turn golden, like cast gold, which is also the origin of its name.

At this moment, a puppet came over, carrying grilled fish, and placed it on the table. Ji An instructed:

"Go to the spring at the bottom of the pond and fetch some spring water, bring it to a boil, and brew a pot of Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea."

He handed the Water-Resistant Bead to the puppet, which then left with the water kettle.

After Ji An had eaten the grilled fish, the spirit tea was ready. He enjoyed drinking a pot of tea and then took out the Fire Crane Dan Yang Furnace to begin refining Fire Element Pills.

This pill furnace is only at Tier Two Middle Grade level, which still satisfies his current needs. However, when refining higher-grade pills in the future, it might not suffice.

Ji An contemplated finding an opportunity to commission Wan Jinrong to refine a Tier Three level pill furnace, styled after the Fire Crane Dan Yang Furnace.

He gathered his scattered thoughts and fully focused on entering the state of alchemy, using the Three Yang Pill Fire Technique to activate the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire.

The tri-colored flames quickly heated the pill furnace, and he skillfully added various spirit medicines into the furnace to refine Divine Essence.

As the spirit medicines liquefied, impurities fell to the bottom of the furnace, turning to ash, and the spiritual liquid quickly cooled and crystallized.

After refining enough Divine Essence for two furnaces of Fire Element Pills, Ji An rested for a moment before continuing his alchemy.

A double hour later, a reddish stream flowed out from the dragon’s mouth on the furnace lid, and he adeptly used the Object Control Technique to lift the lid.

Five red pills spun out of the furnace, but one burst into flames the moment it exited the furnace.

Ji An shook his head regretfully and collected the remaining pills, with four pills formed and three being high-quality.

Five days later, Ji An arrived at the Immortal City’s Certification Association, entering Feiyun Zhenren’s room and handing over several jade bottles, smiling:

"Ten furnaces of pills, with thirty-five pills formed in total, fifteen of which are of ordinary quality."

In fact, a total of forty-two pills were formed, seven of which he kept for himself.

Feiyun Zhenren exclaimed:

"The high-quality rate of your pill refining makes others envious, I’m truly jealous."

Their high-quality rate for refining Fire Element Pills was less than twenty percent, revealing a significant disparity.

Of course, part of the reason was still a lack of skill, but much of the gap was also due to the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire.

Ji An did not respond verbally, merely smiling without a word.

After settling the payment, Feiyun Zhenren took out a storage bag:

"Ten furnace materials, please verify them, fellow Daoist."

She then whispered:

"I have something to inform you about. I’ve heard news that near the Divine Elephant Sect in the northwest of the Central Continent, a situation similar to Wulan Mountain has been discovered.

Our family’s ancestor suspects that if this type of event occurs again, there is a significant chance that the True Demon Tribulation will fully erupt sooner than predicted.

This is not good news; you’d better start preparing for contingencies now, fellow Daoist."

Ji An paused for a moment, then nodded heavily.

Though the tree wishes for calm, the wind will not cease. He must prepare for the worst-case scenario in advance.

The urgency in his heart increased significantly, and after quickly inspecting the materials, he bid farewell and left.

Feiyun Zhenren watched his hurriedly departing figure and shook her head lightly.