Zhu Qinghao's face flushed red, burning as though he had been slapped in public.
Chen Xingyun had come bearing lavish gifts, one of which was a rare spiritual herb Zhu had been seeking fruitlessly for years. After hearing the general situation, Zhu had pounded his chest and promised to mediate.
In his view, Chiyan Peak had nothing particularly remarkable about it. Yes, its spiritual energy was abundant, but it was also far too violent. Each day, the hours suitable for cultivation there were barely half those of other caves.
If Ji An would simply relent, he could not only build goodwill with fellow sect members but also walk away with a pile of free spirit stones. If it were me, I would have agreed in a heartbeat.
What he thought was a sure thing had collapsed before his eyes. Even after pushing so far, Ji An remained as unyielding as iron. Zhu's pride as an elder brother had been trampled.
What stung even more was that if the matter failed, he would have to return the gifts he had already pocketed. The thought made his chest ache.
Suppressing the nameless fire boiling inside, Zhu Qinghao finally spoke slowly:
"Junior Brother, you must be aware that a demon calamity is soon to erupt. Because of the spiritual vein's alignment, Chiyan Peak lies on the sect's outer boundary.
When the calamity comes, both the sect and the great clans will have no choice but to contract their defenses. If you remain isolated at Chiyan Peak, without the sect's protection, how will you hold that vein by yourself?
A wise man knows when to yield. Better to take the profit before you and exchange for a cave in the sect's heartland."
He still couldn't fathom why Ji An insisted on clinging to this decision. Playing the "demon calamity" card was his last attempt to frighten him into retreat.
Chen Xingyun followed with a calm tone:
"When the calamity breaks out, sects and clans alike will hunker down to defend their foundations. But remember, here in the Western Continent, the majority are rogue cultivators.
These scattered ones, with no estates or families to safeguard, will seize the chance to loot and plunder wherever they can.
Chiyan Peak's position is precarious. If the sect contracts its lines, that branch vein will be left to the cave's master alone to defend. Without the sect's shield, how will you withstand the storm?
Brother Zhu speaks the truth. Change caves, take the profit, and we will both owe you a favor. Wouldn't that be the best of all worlds?"
Ji An could hear the faint thread of threat in their words. His own tone chilled:
"My choice of cave is fully within the sect's rules. I ask my two senior brothers not to mention it again."
The demon calamity, he knew, was still decades away from fully breaking out. By then, with the aid of Chiyan Peak's unique energies, he would have grown strong enough to protect what was his. To give it up now was unthinkable.
As long as he remained within the sect's territory shown on the Mountain and River Map, and acted with due caution, he needn't fear petty schemes.
The conversation ended sourly, and the two stormed out with their sleeves flicked in irritation.
Ji An bared his teeth in a wry grin. From now on, I'll need to keep an eye on those two, and on the Chen clan of Puyun Mountain as well.
In their eyes, he was now the man blocking their fortune. That was no small enmity.
He boiled a kettle of water, steeped some spirit tea in a porcelain bowl, and slowly sipped until his mood settled.
What's fated will come; there's no point in dwelling on it. Better to spend the time deepening his understanding of techniques and spells, or broadening his knowledge through jade slips.
After savoring a mouthful of tea, Ji An shook his head slightly.
The taste really was inferior to what Senior Brother Ye had served. Once he moved to Chiyan Peak, Ji An decided he would definitely need to acquire a proper tea set.
A cup of spirit tea after cultivation was, after all, a fine way to relax.
Seated cross-legged on his meditation mat, he circulated his cultivation technique, refining the traces of spiritual energy within the tea.
But Ji An couldn't help but feel a small disappointment at his current stage; first-grade spirit tea already had little effect. After advancing another realm or two, it would serve only to please the palate, nothing more.
Drinking slowly, he picked up a jade slip filled with various cultivation notes, expanding his horizons.
After half an hour of reading, Ji An switched to studying the Thick Earth Returning Chant.
This spell was the evolved form of the Thick Earth Technique, likewise of the Ji Earth path. Comprehending it wasn't particularly difficult for him, partly thanks to his naturally strong soul, and partly due to the Dao Seed of Thick Earth Essence Augmentation.
Through its study, his understanding of Ji Earth deepened.
Ji Earth was moist, nurturing soil, especially adept at nourishing all things, generating Metal and quelling Fire.
Compared to the Verdant Wood Vitalization Art, studying the Thick Earth Returning Chant consumed less time. Soon, Ji An felt he had grasped the key to casting it.
He raised the porcelain bowl and drank in great gulps. The tea had cooled, its taste flat as plain water.
Stepping outside to the vegetable garden behind the bamboo lodge, he began his attempt. As the spell circulated, the Dao Seed in his Chongmen acupoint flickered with faint light.
When the casting was completed, earthen-yellow light spread outward, carrying a weighty, nourishing aura that sank into the ground.
Ji An's eyes glinted as he sent his consciousness into his dantian, linking with the stone turtle.
[Spell: Thick Earth Returning Chant (Initiate 1%)]
"Refine spirit qi, raise the Thick Earth Returning Chant."
His soul-shadow stood upon the Kun position, which had transformed into a vast earthen-yellow land. Beneath his feet, he could sense hidden energies welling up.
Years of accumulation now poured out all at once. Kun qi plummeted like a waterfall, and endless insights erupted in his mind like fireworks cascading through the night sky.
All things, in time, must fade. And when the Kun qi reached zero, the brilliance collapsed into silence.
[Spell: Thick Earth Returning Chant (Initiate 1% → Perfection 3%)]
When Ji An's spirit returned to his body, his mind felt hazy; it took half a breath before he steadied himself again.
Moments ago, his thoughts had been so overwhelmed by insights that he lost track of time itself; it was as though he had stepped outside the flow of days. The rush of a one-click breakthrough was almost too intoxicating to handle.
He resolved that in the future, even if he stockpiled vast reserves of spirit qi, he would advance in stages, pausing in between to avoid straining his mind.
Casting again, the light of the spell grew gentler, its influence spreading across more than ten mu. Its aura was heavier, more nourishing than before.
At this pace, once he reached the Origin Ascension stage, he alone might be capable of tending an entire high-grade sect medicine garden.
The Thick Earth Returning Chant, a Foundation Establishment spell, nourished earth veins far better than the Thick Earth Technique. Increasing the yield of spirit herbs would be no problem.
With this, Ji An could take on sect tasks related to the medicine fields, spirit coal production, and other planting duties. Such tasks consumed little time and would give him opportunities to refine his spells further.
His heart burned with eagerness. After resting briefly, he took out the jade slip for the Spring Breeze and Gentle Rain Technique.
His reserves of Kan qi far exceeded his Kun qi. Keeping them idle was wasteful; it was better to turn them into productivity.
With the Verdant Wood Vitalization Art, the Thick Earth Returning Chant, and the Spring Breeze and Gentle Rain Technique, he would hold three spells that hastened the growth of spirit herbs and fruit trees. Before long, he would surely become the wealthiest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the sect.
He trained the spell, refined qi, and in two rounds raised the Spring Breeze and Gentle Rain Technique to Perfection. Even so, over four hundred points of Kan qi remained.
Mist and cloud gathered over more than twenty mu, glowing golden beneath the sunset. Spirit rain fell upon leaf and blade, composing an ethereal symphony.
When the mist dispersed and the rain ceased, a rainbow stretched above the bamboo lodge.
At that moment, Chen Xingzhou hurried forward to greet his returning kinsman. He noticed the elder's sallow complexion and felt a pang in his heart.
"Eighth Brother, things did not go well?"
Chen Xingyun dropped into a carved chair, his eyes cold and sharp.
"No agreement. Even after raising the offer to two thousand spirit stones, Ji An would not budge.
I dared not and could not increase the price further. Any more and not only would Ji An grow suspicious, but Zhu Qinghao would too."
No one was a fool. Paying such an unreasonable price would only draw more attention, making it harder to keep things hidden.
The Chen clan had leased Chiyan Peak for seventy to eighty years. After decades of management, it brought in over a thousand spirit stones annually.
If that were all, it wouldn't be worth offending a sect disciple; no one could know what heights that person might reach in the future.
But about twenty years ago, Chiyan Peak underwent a strange change. The subterranean fire vein began erupting once a year at a fixed time.
The eruptions were brief, but each time they scattered numerous Fire and Metal attribute spiritual materials around the peak.
Some of them were even mid-grade second-tier materials. And with each passing year, not only did the amount increase, but the quality of the materials grew better.
In recent years, just from selling what was collected after each eruption, they had earned at least four or five thousand spirit stones annually.
For the Chen clan, whose roots lay in artifact forging, these materials were priceless. With their generations of accumulated forging heritage, they could turn such resources into items worth even more.
"If we give up Chiyan Peak, the family's losses will be enormous. We must make a decision," Chen Xingzhou said, making a slashing motion with his hand.
Artifacts created by artificers were graded into magic tools, spiritual weapons, treasure artifacts, and beyond, though the higher categories were things only great cultivators knew of.
The quality of a magic tool depended largely on its materials and embedded restrictions. Such tools were used by Qi Refining and early Foundation Establishment cultivators; some poorer mid-stage Foundation wanderers would still use high-grade magic tools.
Magic tools required direct control from their owner to function. Their offensive and defensive methods were relatively simple and lacked versatility.
Forging spiritual weapons, however, demanded higher-grade materials, as well as the addition of specific Five Elements materials. Once created, a spiritual weapon needed to be nourished long-term with Five Element essences to cultivate spirituality.
Mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators typically wielded lower-grade tier-two spiritual weapons, while Origin Ascension cultivators used mid-grade tier-two and above.
Spiritual weapons could grow along with their owners. If one were lucky, it might even birth a faint consciousness, an artifact spirit capable of warning and protecting its master.
The value of upper-grade tier-two materials could not be measured in spirit stones. Whether used to forge spiritual weapons, sell for profit, or curry favor with Origin Ascension cultivators, they brought immense benefits.
If the Chen clan produced a cultivator at peak Foundation Establishment, those materials could be traded for a Nurturing Essence Pill. With such a pill, their family might even break through to produce an Origin Ascension expert, elevating them to a true major clan.
Chen Xingzhou's eyes glinted with a cruel light as he spoke coldly:
"Chiyan Peak involves too much profit for us to surrender. He's just a spirit farmer. Find the right moment, and we can take him out without anyone knowing."
For the family's prosperity, anyone blocking the path to wealth was an enemy.
But his kinsman frowned and shook his head.
"You've never entered the sect, so you don't understand how tightly they control their territory.
If he stays holed up inside, we'll never find a chance. The only opportunity would be outside the sect.
We need a flawless plan. Once we strike, we must not give him even the smallest chance, and we must erase every trace."
Foundation Establishment cultivators could use their identity tokens to call for aid. The sect's Mountains and Rivers Map could locate the exact spot of the call, even replay the scene at the moment the distress signal was sent.
Chen Xingzhou nodded grimly.
"Next month marks Chiyan Peak's eruption cycle. We'll have a year to make preparations.
Once I return home, I'll have the clan raise flocks of birds and hawks as spirit beasts. They can watch him from afar, tracking his every move."
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