The gray-feathered sand-goose slowly descended, letting out a triumphant cry.
Huang Feihu heard the sound, gave a quick instruction to a nearby disciple, and came out to greet him:
"Senior Brother, you're here. The courtyard's a bit messy, let's go inside to talk."
"I'll take a quick look around first."
Ji An stepped into the yard, carefully inspecting the quantity and quality of the talisman paper. He nodded in satisfaction.
The older craftsmen's skills were slightly superior to his own, with a higher proportion of mid-grade talisman paper.
Huang Feihu grinned sheepishly.
"The talisman grass was excellent, and the brothers' craftsmanship solid. Everyone said this was the easiest round of paper-making they've had.
Heh, even if Senior Brother plants another ten mu of talisman grass, we can handle it."
Ji An chuckled.
"Perhaps in the future. For now, let's go inside."
At the moment, his focus had to be on raising his cultivation, but once he built his foundation, planting a hundred mu of talisman grass might be worth considering. With his mastery of planting techniques, the effort required was low, and the profits, while modest, would steadily accumulate.
Inside, Huang Feihu reported on the talisman grass harvest and the talisman paper yield, his face glowing with excitement.
"At this rate, once the talisman paper sells, the amount of spirit stones Senior Brother will earn will make others envious."
"That's good. You've worked hard, Feihu. I'll treat you all to a feast later," Ji An said warmly. He had already calculated before about one hundred and fifty spirit stones of net profit every two months.
"I've already spoken with Senior Brother Wei. From now on, he'll come every two months to collect the talisman paper. You two can handle the exchanges directly."
...
A month later, the sect officially announced the details of the compulsory mission.
Within days, the price of five-element spiritual materials in every market of the West Continent, as well as in Azure Cloud Immortal City, began to soar.
That day, Ji An received a summoning message from his master. He brought Senior Sister Li along to the mountaintop cave-dwelling.
The two entered and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Master."
Ge Ying gave a slight nod, pointing to two magic artifacts and a storage pouch on the table.
"The sect negotiated with the Emerald Bamboo Mountain market, and after a thorough investigation, we also discovered three other unsolved cases linked to that rogue cultivator.
For slaying a Foundation Establishment bandit cultivator, your bounty has reached four hundred spirit stones.
However, since that artifact shop was only rented, the sect confiscated part of the materials during the search. Still, the sect has decided to reward you with two thousand contribution points each. Don't forget to claim them at the Law Enforcement Hall."
Both disciples' faces lit up with joy, spirit stones, and contribution points in one stroke.
Ji An bowed again.
"Many thanks, Master. Without your help, we never could have received so much."
"A trifling matter," Ge Ying waved it off, then asked,
"Have you been studying the Compendium of Hundred Herbs diligently?"
"Every day I set aside half an hour, Master. I've already memorized over a hundred spiritual plants suited for Qi Refining cultivators, including their medicinal properties and cultivation methods."
Ji An replied with a smile, "Thanks to spiritual energy's nourishment, cultivators have sharp memories. Learning factual knowledge comes quite easily."
Ge Ying nodded.
"Once you've memorized all the cultivation methods for first-tier spirit herbs, come find me.
Also, since you've comprehended the true intent of the Thick Earth Art, starting this month, your contribution points for tending the medicine garden will be doubled."
"Thank you for Master's generosity."
Ji An's grin widened. Now he could earn four hundred contribution points a month just from managing the garden.
"You deserve it. With the true intent of the Thick Earth Art, you can upgrade spirit fields faster and significantly hasten the growth of first-tier herbs.
By the way, prices for five-element spirit materials have already risen quite a bit, but don't sell off what you're holding.
Other factions are secretly fanning the flames. The prices will continue to climb. Wait a few more months and see."
"I understand."
Ji An chuckled. He had hoarded only the Five-Element Essences bulk commodities that were always in high demand. A thirty-percent rise was already outrageous. If prices climbed further, he might be able to gather enough contribution points for a Foundation Establishment Pill this very year. The thought alone was enough to make him grin in his sleep.
Ge Ying turned to the other side and asked,
"Lingyu, how is your divine sense training progressing?"
Li Lingyu nodded firmly, her eyes bright.
"After experiencing battle against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I can clearly feel that my training has improved by leaps and bounds."
"Life-and-death combat forces a cultivator's potential to the surface. This was your first time, so the effect is naturally strong. The next time, the benefit will already be far less."
She gave the two more pointers on their cultivation. When they had no further questions, she waved a hand dismissively.
"Go on. I need to rest a bit before resuming pill refining."
The sect was busy preparing for the looming monster calamity, and her alchemy tasks were especially heavy.
"Your disciples take their leave."
The two bowed and exited the cave.
Outside, Li Lingyu said,
"Junior Brother, since we've gotten our artifacts back, let's find Senior Brother Zhang for an appraisal. It's also time for him to return the rest of the spirit stones he promised."
"Alright," Ji An agreed. Together, they flew to Red Copper Mountain.
When they found Zhang Yuanshan, he appraised the yellow-flag artifact at about three hundred spirit stones.
"The restrictions are rather crude, wasting some of the materials. If I had refined it, I could have added about fifty spirit stones in value."
Ji An once again marveled at the strength of the sect's artifact-crafting heritage. Knowledge truly was wealth.
He handed over the flying sword.
"Senior Brother, please consign this superior-grade artifact for us."
After inspecting it, Zhang Yuanshan looked a bit troubled and gave a wry smile.
"Normally, only early Foundation Establishment cultivators use superior-grade artifacts. But this fire-element flying sword is of middling quality. I doubt our sect's cultivators would want it. A waste, really, of the Scarlet Fire Crystal that went into it."
"For now, let's leave it with you. If it doesn't sell within two years, we'll take it back," Li Lingyu said. They had been forbidden by their master to leave the sect until they reached Foundation Establishment. Even if they wanted to sell it elsewhere, they had no chance.
"Alright, but don't get your hopes up too high."
Zhang Yuanshan nodded. He then ordered a servant to bring the repaired artifacts and laid out a pile of spirit stones.
"The damage was severe, so repairing them cost fifty spirit stones. Here's the rest I owe you, Junior Brother, please count them."
...
A year later, at the Administrative Hall.
The disciple on duty placed Ji An's identity jade tablet on the spirit plate, checked the weight of the Five-Element Essences he handed in, and said:
"Senior Brother, you're at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. The amount you've submitted is exactly correct. This year's compulsory task is complete, you'll receive 500 contribution points."
"Thank you," Ji An nodded slightly, then asked:
"How many contribution points do I have in total now?"
"Over 7,600 contribution points."
Ji An pulled out twenty-seven mid-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and set them on the desk, saying calmly:
"Please help me convert these into contribution points."
Over the past six months, he had liquidated all of his Five-Element Essences. From an initial investment of three thousand spirit stones, he had ended up with more than four thousand two hundred, nearly a fifty percent profit. He had long since repaid his master in full, and now, even after exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill, he still had more than nine hundred spirit stones left. By any measure, he was now truly wealthy.
The duty disciple's throat moved involuntarily as he looked at the spirit-rich glow of the mid-grade stones. He quickly gathered them up, worked the spirit plate for a moment, and then respectfully held out the jade tablet again.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Ji! Your contribution points now stand at 61,725. Elder Tian is upstairs."
What did a ninth-layer Qi Refinement disciple do with such a massive number of contribution points? Naturally, in exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Perhaps the next time they met in a few years, he would be the one bowing and calling this man "Martial Uncle."
"Thank you."
Ji An accepted the jade tablet, strode upstairs, and came before the plump Elder Tian Qingbai.
As before, the elder was sipping tea from a small purple clay pot.
"Elder Tian, I am Ji An of the Verdant Cliff lineage. I'd like to trouble you to help me exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill."
After announcing his sect lineage, Ji An set his jade tablet on the table before him.
"Ji An? I remember you."
Tian Qingbai's eyes lit with recognition. He studied Ji An closely, finally matching the name to the face.
He remembered because, before he had even finished reporting the list of disciples who had submitted spirit stones, a note from Verdant Cliff had arrived informing him that this very Ji An had been accepted as a disciple by Elder Ge.
Picking up the jade tablet, Tian Qingbai erased sixty thousand contribution points on the spirit plate, then placed a few jade slips on his forehead, murmuring:
"Mm. The information has been entered.
When the sect next refines Foundation Establishment Pills, you may come to collect yours. That will be eight years from now, come before mid-summer.
Tsk, tsk… in eight years, I'll have to call you Junior Brother Ji."
In the sect, aside from direct master-disciple relationships, seniority was determined entirely by cultivation level.
"Thank you for your auspicious words, Elder."
After some polite small talk, Ji An excused himself.
Tian Qingbai watched him leave, his eyes flashing with thought.
Eight years from now, he'll only be thirty-two. If he succeeds in Foundation Establishment, his future will be promising indeed. Will he hold a grudge against me for taking his spirit stones back then?
He shook his head and thought to himself, It was only a few stones. I'll make it up to him once he establishes his foundation.
...
At the same time, Ji An was securing his Foundation Establishment Pill, and Li Lingyu was standing outside the Verdant Cliff cave residence on the mountaintop.
When the protective array opened to reveal the entrance, she drew a deep breath and stepped inside.
"Disciple greets Master."
A few days ago, she had realized that no matter how she pushed herself, her divine sense had reached a bottleneck. So she had come to ask her master about attempting Foundation Establishment.
Today, her master had summoned her. The pill was ready.
Ge Ying inclined her head slightly and produced a white jade bottle.
"Inside is a premium Foundation Establishment Pill. Take it and use it.
Your natural aptitude is already close to superior. With the help of this premium pill, your chances of success increase by another ten percent."
Pills crafted by alchemists came in three grades. Those with insufficient medicinal power or excessive toxicity were considered failures, waste pills, and usually discarded outright.
Ordinary ones, with balanced potency and manageable side effects, were called regular pills, and these were the kind most commonly circulated on the market.
On rare occasions, when time, skill, and fortune aligned, an alchemist could produce a pill etched naturally with pill patterns; such pills were known as premium-grade. Their potency was greater, and their toxicity almost negligible.
"Master, your grace is more than I can ever repay."
What the sect distributed through contribution points were only regular Foundation Establishment Pills. She had never dreamed she would be given a premium one, the kind that vastly increased success rates.
Li Lingyu's throat tightened with emotion. Among her master's many disciples, she knew her own natural talent was the weakest. Her divine sense was only average, never outstanding, and she had long feared that a single pill might not be enough for her to break through.
But with this premium Foundation Establishment Pill, her confidence surged.
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