Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 169: Chapter 166: The Banner Face

Ji An invoked the Jade Wood Transformation Skill, controlling the output of his magical power. Green light spots exuding vibrant energy descended into the palm of his hand, then slowly dissipated into the void.

A few crystal-clear red seeds appeared in his palm, precisely the seeds of the Purple Fire Gourd.

Throughout the past year, he nourished them with magic every few days.

Now, the seeds’ life force had reached its limit, unable to increase any further.

“Finally, I can plant them.”

Ji An whispered softly, placing the seeds into a jade bottle.

In the spiritual vein, planting spirit medicine and spirit wood did not require much attention to the season, as long as the conditions were right, spirit plants would naturally thrive.

After finishing dinner, with the bright moon hanging over the mountain, the Gold and Fire Spirit Mechanism of Red Flame Peak had completely subsided and nestled into the mountain’s belly.

After completing the spellwork on the Jade Leaf Mulberry and Biluo Tree, Ji An arrived at the Red Cloud Pine Forest.

Now, the forest pines had borne pinecones, and in a few months, the pine nuts would be ready for harvest.

The only regret was that none of the Red Cloud Pines had advanced to Tier Two Lower Grade in recent days.

Some spirit pines lacked strong foundations and needed more resources to break through the grade, or might never be able to break through.

Ji An decided to select fifty Red Cloud Pines for intensive cultivation, while continuing to cultivate the existing ones for another year.

If they couldn’t reach Tier Two, he’d abandon them, then reselect potential spirit pines for three more years of cultivation in the same way.

His goal was to cultivate over a hundred Tier Two Red Cloud Pines, yielding over twenty thousand pounds of Tier Two pine nuts annually, though Tier Two Lower Grade seemed to be the limit for the Red Cloud Pines.

Ji An arrived next to the Fire Crystal Ants’ nest, found an appropriate location, and released the Object Control Technique to bring in a large amount of ant dung.

Using the Thick Earth Returning Origin Spell, he mixed the soil with the ant dung thoroughly, creating a small special Spirit Field, then planted the Purple Fire Gourd seeds.

This ant excretion was a very high-quality fertilizer for the Purple Fire Gourd.

He cast the Spring Breeze and Rain Skill, forming a cloud several feet in radius, shimmering with a faint spirit light under the moon.

The spirit rain fell silently, and red gourd vines broke through the soil.

Ji An used the Golden Light Technique as a knife and axe, cutting over a dozen long pine branches to make wooden rods.

He then released a Bursting Fireball, and put the wooden rods inside for roasting.

Although the Red Cloud Pine was a Fire Element plant, it couldn’t withstand such intense high-temperature roasting, quickly losing vitality.

Ji An assembled the wooden rods into a frame for the gourd vines to climb on; the lifeless wooden rods would not absorb any spiritual energy.

Later, he would transform into the old man from ’The Gourd Brothers,’ to see if he could cultivate a top-grade gourd.

…

Huang Feihu walked into the stone house, smiling:

“Junior Martial Uncle, the two disciples I mentioned to you a couple of days ago have arrived. When might you have time to see them?”

Two more years, and he’ll be able to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill. After successfully establishing his foundation, he will leave.

Having carefully selected and compared, he picked two disciples to take his place.

Ji An nodded slightly, saying:

“Now is fine.”

He sighed in his heart, knowing that no feast in the world lasts forever.

However, the old companions of ten-plus years had better development opportunities ahead, and he gave his blessing.

Huang Feihu called towards the door:

“You two, come in.”

Two Seventh-Layer Qi Refining disciples entered the stone house, clasping their hands.

“Disciple Huang Xuan, greets Junior Martial Uncle Ji.”

“Disciple Li Cheng, greets Junior Martial Uncle Ji.”

Ji An sensed that both were quite young, appearing less than twenty, with earnest expressions.

“Very well, for the next two years, you’ll work under Flying Tiger to familiarize yourselves with the situation at Red Flame Peak.

As long as you work diligently, you may stay. You can leave for now.”

His main purpose in recruiting disciples was to help with minor tasks; he only needed efficiency and reliable character.

“Thank you, Junior Martial Uncle.”

The two of them showed a look of joy on their faces and withdrew from the stone house.

Ji An turned his head, smiling:

“Flying Tiger, tomorrow you can take them around to familiarize them with things here. In a few months, you can let them handle things independently and see if they can manage well.”

“Understood.”

Ji An mused:

“How advanced are your Planting Techniques?

After foundation establishment, will you focus on planting or talisman making?”

He cultivated a few acres of Talisman Grass outside of Red Flame Peak and frequently drew talismans.

Huang Feihu said:

“These years, I’ve had the privilege of consulting with Junior Martial Uncle frequently, my Thick Earth Technique and Small Cloud Rain Technique have both reached perfection. I haven’t practiced the Life and Death Technique much, it’s still at great success.

My talent in talisman making is average, and after years of solely focusing on the Golden Armor Technique, my success rate in making talismans is barely sixty percent.

After foundation establishment, planting will still be my main focus.

But if circumstances allow, I’d like to try alchemy.”

Relative to talisman making, pills had higher profit margins.

Now, the sect recruits many more disciples than before, and even Qi Refining Stage pills have a large market.

Ji An nodded slightly; he had intended to tell the other about the imminent demon calamity but decided to wait until he completed his foundation establishment before sharing.

…

Three months later.

It was the season for harvesting pine nuts when the cultivators from Diligence Hall came to Red Flame Peak to collect this year’s rent.

A few days later, Du Huaiyuan came to Red Flame Peak, asking:

“Junior Brother, how many pine nuts do you have for wine-making this year?

We need to accelerate a bit, in over a month, I’ll be heading to Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City.”

Ji An laughed:

“Indeed, we should speed up, this year I’m planning to use forty thousand pounds of top-grade pine nuts for wine-making, along with three hundred pounds of Tier Two pine nuts.”

This year’s pine nut yield was higher than expected though fried pine nuts’ market was weaker compared to spirit wine.

Du Huaiyuan whistled, smiling:

“Great, with this amount, we can brew several more dozen pounds of spirit wine.”

“I’ve made a list, send someone to buy the other materials.”

Ji An took the list, glanced at it, and said:

“Senior brother, lend me your flying ship for use.”

There were many items, and he did not have a flying ship or enough storage bags to hold them.

“Junior brother, you should buy a flying ship. Once the production of Spirit Wine increases, relying on scattered sales won’t work. You need to sign supply agreements with Spiritual Food Shops to deliver goods, right?

Otherwise, you’ll need to buy a lot of storage bags.

A flying ship is useful, keeping a bunch of storage bags on hand is a bit silly.”

“I’ll buy one in a few years. How many Spirit Stones does buying all these materials cost, senior brother?”

Du Huaiyuan handed over the flying ship and pondered:

“It roughly requires around three thousand seven or eight.”

There are plenty of Pine Nuts and many matching materials. The investments are still quite substantial.

If it were him, he simply wouldn’t have the financial power to brew tens of thousands of pounds of Pine Nut Wine at once.

Ji An handed the flying ship and the list to Xia Yuhuan beside him, then pointed out forty middle-grade Spirit Stones:

“Give them to Flying Tiger, let him go purchase.”

A month later, all 40,000 pounds of Pine Nuts were brewed into Spirit Wine, getting over 15,000 pounds.

Cellared for three years, they can be sold externally, with Pine Nut Wine prices fluctuating around two Spirit Stones per pound, Ji An’s net profit should be over 10,000 Spirit Stones.

In the future, this much Spirit Stones will be received annually; this is merely the income from Pine Nut Wine.

…

The stars shift and time flows like water; half a year has passed.

The earliest planted Spiritual Peach Tree has already been cultivated to Tier One Top Grade, and the Spiritual Apricot Tree has been cultivated to the Top-grade Level.

The branches of the two Spirit Trees are filled with small blossoms; apricot blossoms like snow, peach blossoms like rosy clouds, resplendent in their beauty.

The Peach Tree planted from the two Peach Seeds obtained from the master is now arm-thick, currently at the Top-grade Level.

Ji An lightly shook his head, the foundation of the Spiritual Apricot Tree isn’t enough. It’s uncertain if it can be cultivated to Top Grade in the future.

While pondering, a silver light descended from the sky, hovering and flickering beside him—it’s the Communication Talisman Sword.

Ji An raised his hand to receive it and used Divine Sense to read its contents, laughed aloud, and shouted to nearby people:

“I’m going out to visit friends today, will return in a few days, take care of your respective matters.”

He wielded the Flying Shuttle and sped away.

…

Cloud Dream Peak, Silk Cave.

Ji An stepped into the grotto mansion, cupped his hands and said:

“Senior sister, the banner cloth is completed several months later than I anticipated.”

Liuu Suyun took out the woven banner cloth and a small, fist-sized porcelain jar, and said gently:

“Junior brother may not know, a senior brother from the Law Enforcement Hall had a Magical Artifact that needed repair; he had to go to Mingfeng Mountain for an urgent task, so it couldn’t be delayed.

It’s my fault; recently, I’ve obtained some Tier Two Lower-grade Spirit Tea named “Cloud Peak Silver Needle”, a tael as a gift, please forgive me.”

“Since it was for official business, senior sister didn’t do anything wrong.

However, I haven’t tasted Tier Two Spirit Tea yet, so I’ll gladly accept senior sister’s gift.”

Ji An accepted the banner cloth, observing its smooth satin-like surface, dark yellow color, woven with Golden Lotus and Qilin patterns, suffused with a treasured aura.

“Senior sister, I won’t stay longer; I need to quickly find Senior Brother Zhao Lei. Once I get the apricot yellow Banner, a wish will be fulfilled.

Oh, there are two good news to share with senior sister; Red Flame Peak can now stably supply top-grade Copper Patterned Mulberry Leaves, and two Earth Spirit Fruit Trees have been cultivated to the Top-grade Level.”

Liuu Suyun regrettably said:

“I wish I had known you earlier, junior brother; otherwise, I could have cultivated more high-tier Golden Spot Spiders and Golden Silk Worms.”

Ji An earnestly replied:

“It’s not too late now, senior sister. Just wait with anticipation; I will definitely cultivate Tier Two Earth Spirit Fruit Trees and Copper Patterned Mulberry.”

Liuu Suyun smiled:

“I’m looking forward to it.”

…

After leaving Silk Cave, Ji An pushed the Flying Shuttle to its utmost speed, arriving at Red Copper Mountain before the sun completely set.

The sky was already dark, not suitable for visiting, so he went to Zhang Yuanshan’s grotto mansion to stay for the night.

The next day at 7:00 AM, Ji An bade farewell to Senior Brother Zhang and found Zhao Lei’s grotto mansion.

A muscular young man, bare-chested, came out, saying:

“Martial Uncle, my master has many Magical Artifacts to craft recently, it might take up to half a year to queue.

If Martial Uncle is in a hurry, perhaps choose another martial uncle or elder.”

“I need to talk to Senior Brother Zhao; tell him, Ji An from Red Flame Peak has already gathered all materials for crafting a Spiritual Artifact.”

“Martial Uncle is indeed crafting a Spiritual Artifact, please come in!”

The muscular young man invited Ji An into the grotto mansion, went inside to report, and quickly came out again, saying:

“Martial Uncle, please wait a moment; my master is currently at the critical stage of refining an artifact, and will be out shortly.”

About half an hour passed and Zhao Lei hurriedly came out, laughing:

“Haha, junior brother gathered materials so quickly?”

He wondered, ’Junior Sister Liuu’s Golden Spot Spider was said not to produce silk for ten more years, how did it recover so quickly?’

Ji An took out two jars of Spirit Wine and laid out all the materials:

“Two jars of top-grade Pine Nut Wine for senior brother to taste.

All materials have been gathered, please verify them, senior brother.”

From Mo Mountain, he learned that most Artifact Refiners are fond of wine, so he had Spirit Wine prepared in his storage bag.

“I’ll gladly accept the Spirit Wine.”

Zhao Lei quickly put away the Spirit Wine, a few extra smiles gleaming in his eyes.

He weighed the various spiritual objects and nodded:

“The materials are adequate; in three months, junior brother can come to collect the Spiritual Artifact.”

He paused and said:

“I’ve reserved room for enhancement within the apricot yellow Banner; junior brother may one day upgrade it to middle-grade or even top-grade Spiritual Artifact.”

Ji An cupped his hands:

“Senior brother’s skills are remarkable; if I need to enhance the Spiritual Artifact’s quality, I’d surely return to senior brother.”