Chapter 639 - 506: A Mad Idea

Whether it’s the face armor, chest armor, or leg armor, quite a few armor plates have been destroyed.

The face armor is in the best condition with less than twenty percent damage, the leg armor is about thirty-five percent damaged, and the chest armor is in the worst shape with about fifty percent damage.

This set of top-grade spiritual artifact is considered completely abandoned, Ji An just feels heartache.

The Celestial Soaring Armor cost him over four hundred top-grade spirit stones, equivalent to working for free for dozens of years.

To repair it, he must go to Red Rock Immortal City and entrust Guu Tai to refine new armor plates for replacement; in the short term, he doesn’t plan to leave the sect.

"Spending money to avoid disaster is not too bad."

He softly comforted himself; actually, if he could exchange top-grade spirit stones for Dao Rhyme, he would be overjoyed!

In the thunder tribulation, the Stone Turtle absorbed over a hundred points of Dao Rhyme, which was the biggest gain apart from the breakthrough in realm and magical treasure transformation.

At this moment, the Stone Turtle crawled a few steps forward, fell from his hand, disappeared on the ground, as if like a ginseng fruit entering the earth.

Ji An was startled and immediately activated divine sense to probe but found nothing; the probing range of divine sense in the soil and rocks was less than fifty zhang.

Since the Stone Turtle materialized from his body, it had never left his body even half a step, now suddenly disappearing, his mind inevitably became anxious.

He took a deep breath and stopped worrying; if the Stone Turtle wanted to leave, he had no means to retain it, can only let it be.

After a while, his mood gradually calmed down, and the Stone Turtle appeared again at this time.

A wild idea suddenly flashed in Ji An’s mind, issuing a command:

"Float in the air."

Almost as the thought emerged, the five-colored glow shimmered on the Stone Turtle, it floated in the void, its position level with Ji An’s eyes, looking adorably.

"Are you afraid of the thunder tribulation?"

The Stone Turtle shook its head, its eyes showing some arrogance.

Seemingly somewhat impatient, it transformed into a shadow and merged into the body it ’hosted’ for hundreds of years, once again falling into the dantian and keeping company with the Primordial Life Fire.

"Hehehe..."

Ji An let out a silly laugh, at first quiet but gradually louder, carrying endless flamboyance.

The Stone Turtle fears no thunder tribulation and can absorb Dao Rhyme during it; there are several cultivators in the sect eligible to impact the Golden Core level!

Now the only thing needed to clarify is, if the Stone Turtle flies into someone else’s thunder tribulation to absorb Dao Rhyme, would it affect others’ breakthroughs?

When he broke through, the thunder tribulation was very strong; he wonders if it was because he had the Stone Turtle.

Fortunately, it was him; if it were other fellow sect members, they might be struck to dust by the Chaos Divine Thunder.

Ji An communicated with the Stone Turtle, "Do you affect the intensity of the thunder tribulation?"

If the Stone Turtle greatly increases others’ thunder tribulation intensity, he can’t bear to do this during fellow sect members’ breakthroughs.

If he can determine that the Stone Turtle doesn’t affect others’ breakthroughs, he will be prosperous!

Instantly, he thought of hundreds of ideas, eagerly awaiting the Stone Turtle’s response.

The Stone Turtle seemed to be asleep, motionless and unresponsive.

"Hey, buddy, give me a response!"

"Big Boss, wake up!"

Ji An repeated the question but received no answer.

"I need to quickly determine whether the Stone Turtle affects, how should I do it!"

...

Treasure Pavilion.

The setting sun cast the silhouette of a solitary duck, and Jia Yu took a sip of wine, drunkenly gazing at the splendid clouds.

At this moment, he still felt like living in a dream.

In just over a hundred years, he actually witnessed a fellow sect member ascend from mid-stage Foundation Establishment to Golden Core Stage.

He whispered softly, "Elder Ji?"

Suddenly shaking his head, he recalled an old joke, but when that person truly became an ancestor, it became difficult to speak.

"Ah, there are several Golden Core seeds in the sect; I don’t know how many former brothers I can see break through in my lifetime."

Jia Yu took a few more sips of wine, activated the Dharma Prohibition of the hall, and rode the clouds away.

...

Grotto Mansion at Mountain Crest.

Master Yuxiao chose not to meet at Wuji Hall, being in his grotto mansion felt more intimate.

"It seems junior brother’s injuries are all healed."

He recalled the other’s miserable appearance at that time, unconsciously grinning; seeing fellows of the same tier downcast is a rare opportunity.

Ji An nodded gently, "Yes, the injuries to my body are mostly healed, but none of the magical treasures and spiritual artifacts are intact; they need repairing."

He paused, then added:

"I see the expression of senior brother, feeling more like schadenfreude."

"Haha," Master Yuxiao couldn’t hold it back, laughed aloud, and bent over with laughter.

"Don’t blame senior brother; it’s just that junior brother’s appearance at that time was so amusing.

"Fortunately, Senior Brother Zhengyang didn’t remain in the sect, otherwise your brilliant image would be remembered by two people."

Ji An sighed softly. In life, being laughed at by others is common, and occasionally laughing at others is something he understood in his previous life.

The laughter from others carried no malice, so let it be. As long as he’s not embarrassed, the embarrassment falls on others.

Master Yuxiao stopped laughing and said:

"Junior Brother, forgive me. I haven’t encountered such an amusing situation in many years."

There was a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. The life of a cultivator pursuing immortality is not colorful. More often, it is meditation and enlightenment, accumulating magical power bit by bit.

Going out on a journey is relatively relaxing, but many times, cultivators venture into desolate places, witnessing the wonders of creation and the vastness of the world, yet finding little of human life.

They face ferocious demon beasts and various harsh environments; one misstep could lead to eternal damnation.

Traveling in the Central Continent can offer a different experience, but under the sun, the order there is as solid as iron, yet behind the scenes, it’s more ruthless than the Western Continent.

In his view, the Central Continent is more suited to skilled craftsmen accumulating resources and relationships, not for pioneers of small forces like himself.

Master Yuxiao composed himself and said:

"Since Junior Brother has successfully broken through, I suggest informing the other sects formally when Senior Brother Zhengyang returns to the sect, and then holding the Golden Core ceremony. What do you think?"

The purpose of holding the ceremony is to introduce one into the Golden Core cultivators’ circle. The higher one’s cultivation, the smaller the circle becomes.

"I will follow Senior Brother’s arrangements," Ji An replied. Daoist Master Zhengyang is the Sect Leader; of course, the ceremony can’t be held in his absence.

Master Yuxiao took out a colorful Jade Slip and said:

"I’m speaking on behalf of Senior Brother Zhengyang to explain our rules. Golden Core cultivators are supported by the sect, enjoying the best grotto mansions. Most resources don’t need personal searching, and a stipend is granted every five years.

We also have the responsibility to maintain the sect and create a better cultivation environment for the disciples; this is the path of reasonable development.

The sect has its achievements today thanks to this philosophy."

"We need to contribute when taking resources; otherwise, if we only take, the sect will weaken, which is not conducive to the cultivation of high-tier cultivators."

"In this Jade Slip, there’s the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture at the Golden Core level, which can allow us to break through to the sixth layer of the Golden Core. Junior Brother needs to exchange three million small merits for it.

As a core member of the sect’s senior management, you can enjoy it immediately. The debt of small merits needs to be repaid within thirty years, you understand, right?"

Ji An took over the Jade Slip and said:

"Of course, without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Any one-sided contribution isn’t sustainable."

In terms of sustainable development, he understood more than the other. Only by ensuring a certain level of fairness can a force develop.

Only by mobilizing a person’s subjective initiative can greater value be created.

Besides, he’s quite familiar with being in debt!

Master Yuxiao was very satisfied with his answer. If a force’s high-tier cultivators all demand various privileges, there might not be an issue in the short term, but long-term, it would inevitably lead to a breakup.

"The key to the Jade Slip is the cultivation route map for breaking through the Golden Core in the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture. Junior Brother can keep it without returning it to me.

I will now explain the key points of Golden Core Stage cultivation. Junior Brother can listen for now, as I am also crossing the river by feeling the stones, mistakes are inevitable.

If Junior Brother discovers anything, please do not hesitate to inform me."

He built an armor for himself; Daoist Master Zhengyang and he were the only two Golden Core cultivators in the sect. Without predecessors’ guidance, cultivation relied entirely on personal comprehension.

"When a Foundation Establishment cultivator breaks through to the Chao Origin Stage, the most apparent feature is the ignition of the Primordial Life Fire, which is the manifestation of our body’s Essence Qi.

The cultivation at the Chao Origin Stage involves understanding the mysteries of the Power of the Five Elements, ultimately crystallizing the magical power and refining the Golden Core with the Primordial Life Fire.

What these two realms achieve is ’Refining Essence and Qi.’"

"The Golden Core Stage is the final stage of refining essence and qi, as well as the beginning of refining qi to divinity, a transitional realm.

At this stage, we need to infuse our Divine Thought into the Golden Core to cultivate and nurture it, eventually shattering the core to form a Nascent Soul.

To shatter the core and form a Nascent Soul, one needs to comprehend the Power of Yin and Yang; this is the prerequisite for taking the final step."

"During this process, we also need to do one thing, which is to continuously ascend using the power of Five Qi Chaoyuan to achieve the purpose of opening the Upper Dantian."

"The Upper Dantian is where the soul is stored. During the process of shattering the core to form a Nascent Soul, it is a process of the fusion of essence and qi. Opening the Upper Dantian is a prerequisite for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

If the Upper Dantian is not opened, our Nascent Soul will have no place to reside, and breaking through the realm would be a suicidal act."

Master Yuxiao explained a lot but not in detail; much was his speculation.

Ji An took out a Blank Jade Slip, occasionally recording his viewpoint, preparing to slowly discern it later.

In a force, low-tier cultivators are fortunate because they stand on the shoulders of giants, only needing to cultivate step by step.

In the past, he was very fortunate, but now it’s his time to contribute.

His cultivation process will become experience for those who come after.

After breaking through to the Golden Core Stage, he plans to stay in the Western Continent for a period, nurturing Tier Three Spirit Plants at Red Flame Peak is his goal, which is a personal contribution to the sect.

Red Flame Peak, with all its Spiritual Mechanisms, is his blessed place.

Additionally, Ji An is also awaiting further development in the Gourd World, at least to cultivate Tier Three Spiritual Veins.

At that time, when he ventures out again, with superior magical techniques and abundant resources, he will not fear the outside world’s storms.

Master Yuxiao then said:

"Regarding the specifics of the cultivation path, Junior Brother can follow the cultivation technique. If there’s anything unclear, we can discuss it anytime."

His tone carried a touch of joy, finally having an extra person with whom he could explore issues and progress together.

Ji An cupped his hands in salute, "I shall frequently seek guidance from Senior Brother in the future."