Chapter 643 - 509: Tier 2 Gathering Essence Tree

The Mimic Array disappeared, and Ji An stepped into the Lava Cave.

Many large tunnels, the size of barrels, were present on the rocky walls—those were the pathways for the Fire Crystal Ants.

Nurtured by Tier Two Upper Grade and Top-grade Red Cloud Pine, these insect demon beasts lived very comfortably.

The Ant Queen had already reached the Late-stage Foundation Establishment level, and with the accumulation of time, it was possible for her to advance to the Chao Origin Stage.

Such a promotion would be a transformative rebirth for the entire colony.

Ji An was somewhat troubled about how to arrange for these Fire Crystal Ants when he left the sect; leaving them here unattended was not an option.

The best approach would be to take the Ant Queen and the strongest batch of Fire Crystal Ants and have the successor sign a blood pact with the new Ant Queen.

He walked to the end of the passage, opened the Sealing Array, and his Daoist Robe billowed as he descended.

The Fire Coral planted around had already reached Tier Two Upper Grade, their propagation method similar to bamboo, and Ji An often removed plants lacking potential.

After grinding them, he mixed the red sand of the Fire Crystal Ants and scattered it near the roots of the Jade Flame Purple Spirit Gourd as fertilizer.

To Fire Element Plants, this was a superior fertilizer, and the Phoenix Wood also enjoyed this treatment.

The Lotus Seedpod of the Cyan Leaf Red Lotus bore golden stripes, marking its gradual maturity.

When the lotus seedpod fully transformed into gold, it signified the full maturation of the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire.

Now that Ji An’s cultivation had advanced to the Golden Core Level, the time needed for the maturation of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire shortened considerably, and he was bound to take one of the fire seeds.

The Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire provided extra benefits for an Alchemist, and missing it was not an option.

Ji An unleashed three Planting Techniques, and when the light of the Zhurong Divine Fire Spell illuminated the cave, the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire appeared as expected.

Threads of Fire Spirit Light were drawn by an invisible force, gathering into clouds around the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire, which devoured them.

The light and flames of the Cyan Lotus Heart-Burning Fire were clear, spirited, and enchanting, its brilliance rendering everything else pale by comparison.

The Phoenix Wood showed off its form, the feather-like golden patterns on its bark cyclically glowing and fading.

...

The clear luminescence of the moon spilled down, and the silvery leaves of the Copper Patterned Mulberry swayed in the evening breeze, the silver gleam shimmering like the surface of the sea at night.

Amid the tranquility, there was an aura of severity, characteristic of Gold Spirit Plants.

Over the years, neither the Jade Leaf Mulberry nor the Copper Patterned Mulberry had produced a Tier Two Top-grade plant.

In Ji An’s view, they had reached their species’ limits.

The Jade Leaf Mulberry was excellent feed for demon beasts, and it could mass-produce herbivorous demon beasts at the Foundation Establishment Level.

The meat supply was provided to the sect’s low-tier disciples, significantly shortening their growth time.

The Copper Patterned Mulberry served as food for the Golden Silk Worms, and currently, the sect’s production of high-tier silk was increasing annually.

The wealth generated by these two spirit plants was relatively modest, but they had become foundational industries for the sect, and Ji An had no plans to harvest them to plant other spirit plants.

The sect was a whole, and helping Red Flame Peak enhance the spirit vein grade meant he couldn’t burn bridges after crossing.

Ji An rode an auspicious cloud, hovering above the Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo, where gentle, golden light flickered.

During the night, Red Flame Peak was not dark at all, as there were just too many Tier Two Spirit Plants.

Currently, there were eleven Top-grade Profound Leaf Sword Bamboos, which could basically meet the needs of sect disciples, since not many cultivators could afford to refine top-grade spiritual artifacts.

Now, the area of Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo plantations reached two hundred acres, and in a few years, many top-grade golden leaves would be stored, something unimaginable in the past.

The Vajra Bodhi Tree had advanced to the Tier Two Top Grade, but had not yet borne fruit.

According to the experience with Bodhi Trees, it would enter the fruit-bearing period in four or five more years.

Ji An continuously released the Yellow Dragon Essence Enhancement Skill, and the yellow spirit light undulated, raising the nourishing magic intent, as the sheen of silver leaves and golden leaves became more luminous.

...

In the underground cave, the Golden Fur lay sweetly asleep under the Soul Nourishing Wood.

On the four Tier Two Top-grade Earth Spirit Fruit Trees, leaves crafted like yellow jade displayed their elegant forms.

Ji An chuckled, as this beast, which used to be active only at night, now had a changed routine.

To be honest, Golden Fur was the biggest ’beneficiary’ of the Soul Nourishing Wood’s grade elevation, spending most of the day beside the spirit tree.

He cast the Yellow Dragon Essence Enhancement Skill, and the fluctuation of magical power prompted Golden Fur to open its eyes.

It raised its head and looked around, "Squeak squeak."

Then, it resumed its deep sleep.

Ji An shook his head, now feeling that raising the Spirit-Seeking Rat was somewhat a waste, as he seldom ventured out seeking opportunities, rendering the beast-taming there for finding spiritual objects fruitless.

He employed the Earth Escape Technique to return to the surface, flew on an auspicious cloud to the Cold Pool’s edge:

"Feng Xing, tomorrow you and Liu Ruhai will pilot the flying ship to deliver the felled Azure Dragon Wood to Zhuu Xiangrong’s Grotto Mansion on Red Copper Mountain."

Both disciples replied in unison:

"As you command."

Ji An rode the cloud back to the grotto mansion, first casting spells on the spiritual plants in the Medicinal Garden like the Celestial Essence Ginseng, then entering the Quiet Chamber.

"Finally finished, now is the most important moment!"

He took off the Gourd Stone pendant, and immersed his mind into the Dantian to connect with the Stone Turtle.

"Refine the Dao Rhyme to upgrade the Little World, stop when the spiritual vein grade is upgraded."

These past years he had consistently used spirit soil and magic arrays to upgrade the spirit field grade, now all the spirit fields have been upgraded to Tier Two Middle Grade.

In this calculation, the resistance to upgrading the spiritual vein would be very small, and there should still be plenty of Dao Rhyme left.

With the command issued, the Stone Turtle disappeared from the Dantian, appearing in Ji An’s palm, as if releasing some escape technique.

The Gourd Stone was swallowed in one gulp, its shell shimmering brilliantly, and the Eight Trigrams pattern shone unusually bright.

Mysterious fluctuations appeared within the Quiet Chamber, like waves continuously emerging.

Approximately half an hour later, the Stone Turtle spat out the Gourd Stone, a proud gleam in its eyes, before its body faded and vanished.

It returned to the Dantian, lay next to the Primordial Life Fire, closed its eyes, giving a sense of hiding its achievements and recognition.

"The big shot truly has style!"

Ji An flattered, and issued a command:

"Enter the Gourd World!"

Nothing happened.

He was stunned, confirmed that his Divine Sense was connected with the Stone Turtle, and commanded again:

"Enter the Gourd World!"

Still nothing happened, Ji An scratched his head, puzzled why the Stone Turtle was on strike.

He rubbed the Gourd Stone in his hand, frowning and pondering deeply; moments later, he instinctively sent out his Divine Sense and discovered a silver light spot appearing within the previously pitch-black World Stone.

When his Divine Sense touched the light spot, his figure disappeared.

Ji An felt as though he had undergone a teleportation, his consciousness blurred for a split second, then upon clarity, he found himself standing on yellow earth.

The Wuji Xinghuang Banner flew out of the Dantian, transforming into an Earth Qilin, with yellow auspicious clouds beneath its feet, carrying it to the Gathering Essence Tree.

Ji An’s eyes suddenly widened, he saw that the Spirit Tree had grown two feet taller than when he had entered a few days ago, and the main trunk appeared even more robust.

He rushed to the Heaven and Earth Spirit Tree, inserted his Divine Sense to feel the flow of life force.

This Heaven and Earth Spirit Tree had reached Tier Two Lower Grade, and with the spiritual vein elevated to Tier Two Middle Grade, it was a double blessing!

Based on past experiences, every upgrade in the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root grade means that the Stone Turtle would be able to absorb more Spiritual Mechanism.

Ji An laughed heartily, a sense of exuberance born from the feeling that even heaven and earth were working in his favor.

After a good while, his laughter subsided, and he surveyed the vibrant world around him.

All the spirit plants were upgraded to Tier Two Lower Grade, including Iron Wire Grass.

According to past experiences, this was fundamentally impossible; Soul Nourishing Wood, such a treasure plant, and Dark Night Tree, a spirit plant with a Tier Three Middle Grade foundation, grows very slowly.

Ji An didn’t know what effects other Heaven and Earth Spirit Roots had, but he was certain that the Gathering Essence Tree possessed a function that accelerated the spiritual plant grade enhancement, with Soul Nourishing Wood as the evidence!

From a certain perspective, the increment in the Gathering Essence Tree’s grade delivers a stronger impact than the Little World spiritual vein enhancement.

Now that both are upgraded, Ji An’s excitement is imaginable.

Fire Coral, Spiritual Peach, Azure Dragon Wood, these three spirit plants have all produced Tier Two Middle-Grade plants, now that the spiritual vein quality has elevated, Tier Two Middle Grade will become the mainstream within this Little World.

Among the surrounding insect towers, two stood out conspicuously, the others were a loamy yellow, but these two insect towers had the brilliance of jade.

These two insect towers house the new generation of Spirit Devouring Insects; when they emerged from their cocoons, their bodies shrank, but their secreted fluids became much more spiritual.

The cocoon powder, ground down, forms a material higher in tier than the insect tower; Ji An thinks this spiritual material might have other uses, but due to its rarity, he hasn’t identified its purpose.

The Spirit Devouring Insects remain the cornerstone of both the Fire Crystal Ants and Spirit Fish populations, their growth is the ’basic industry,’ allowing for a faster development of high-end products.

In just a few years, Treasure Dragon Fish in the Chao Origin stage will be born.

Ji An began casting spells on the spirit fields, and with the spiritual vein elevated, the spirit field’s area has expanded to about one hundred mu, each segment of the spirit field occupying twenty mu.

The entire Red Spirit Field infrastructure had been used up, now creating more open areas.

Each spirit field increased by eight mu on average, though the Fire Element Field and Water Element Field were special, being located in volcanic lava zones and pond areas, respectively, their cultivation fields increased by only four mu.

Ji An immediately scattered Pearl Blood Rice, now that his spell effects had improved, the growth cycle of spirit rice would shorten, the yield would increase, creating more profits over time.

Selling spirit rice is a bit tricky, as Ji An wanted to keep the origin of the spirit rice a secret; he originally planned to ask Senior Sister Han Yan for research into fasting pills that used Pearl Blood Rice as the main ingredient; for confidentiality, he intended to research it himself.

For selling pills, few investigate the ingredients.

Han Mountain grew spirit rice in his grotto mansion, finding yields to be only around two hundred pounds per mu, and profits quite thin, not as lucrative as cultivating Fire-element Spiritual Medicine, so he had already ceased planting.

After casting spells on all spirit fields, Ji An was troubled again, as previously entering and exiting the Little World was done via the Stone Turtle’s assistance, now that he could enter autonomously, how was he to exit?

He connected with the Stone Turtle, issuing a command to leave, the creature ignored him, indicating he could exit on his own.

Ji An started searching, eventually finding a node on the edge of the Little World’s fog, stepping into it, the next moment he returned to the Quiet Chamber.

He had no intention of researching Cultivation Techniques; after breaking through to the Golden Core, he felt a sense of fatigue deep within his mind and decided to take a good rest.