Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 225: Chapter 216: Signs of Trouble

Ye Changqing leisurely sipped the Spirit Tea, the Cloud Peak Silver Needle paired with Jade Dew Golden Bud, a golden-yellow brew with a unique and lingering taste.

His gaze was bright, and his mood was pleasant.

Not far away, a large blue-shelled turtle occasionally glanced at him.

Ji An finished his cultivation and returned to the Cold Pool:

“Senior Brother, did you sleep well last night?”

“Haha, it’s been years since I last slept in.”

Ye Changqing laughed, as he grew older, he found himself needing less sleep.

Tier One Spirit Wine was hardly enough to get him drunk, and he had never indulged in Tier Two Spirit Wine so freely before.

Such wonderful times are rare, one must enjoy them to the fullest when they come.

He raised his light green teacup and said:

“Fragrant tea and strong wine, things from Red Flame Peak are always unique.

Jade Dew and Golden Teeth, truly good stuff.”

The Ghost Moon Cyan Jade Tree is extremely rare, with a rare effect of nurturing the Spirit Soul.

A few years ago, a disciple handed in Ghost Moon Cyan Jade Tree seeds at Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City, and shortly after they were brought to the Diligence Hall, Senior Brother Lin Mao exchanged for them. Unexpectedly, one was also planted here.

This Junior Brother seems to like staying put, but he’s not lacking connections.

Ji An smiled and said:

“The only drawback is that the tea tree is only Tier One Upper Grade, having minimal effect on us middle to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, merely enhancing the tea’s flavor.”

After he sat down, the maids served lunch.

“Yu Han, bring a can of Jade Dew Golden Bud.”

After instructing the maidservant, Ji An turned and said:

“As the tea tree ages, it will produce more leaves, and each year I’ll send some to Senior Brother.”

Previously, the Ghost Moon Cyan Jade Tree leaves were scarce, and he was reluctant to pick them.

Ye Changqing laughed:

“I’ll have to visit often, never know what good things I might taste.”

The longer they knew each other, the deeper their relationship, with no need for polite words.

“You’re always welcome.”

They chatted leisurely over lunch, and Ye Changqing said:

“The times are quiet in the sect’s region, but there’s already a sign of a demon calamity outbreak at Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City.

According to investigations, small groups of demon beasts, driven by high-tier demon beasts, have been migrating outward from deeper in the mountains.

These demon beasts are gathering in a large valley over two thousand miles west of Mingfeng Mountain, it seems in a few years, the demon calamity will erupt.”

Ye Changqing sighed lightly in his heart; what’s destined to come will come.

Unknown how much strength the Western Continent will retain after this demon calamity, and how much strength the sect can preserve.

“When soldiers come, block them; when water arrives, cover it.

The Three Sects have been preparing for the demon calamity for over a hundred years, the overall strength of the Western Continent is much stronger than when the last demon calamity erupted.

Moreover, the Central Continent sects will dispatch cultivators for support, so this crisis should be easier to get through.”

Ji An said, the cause of the demon calamity mainly lies in the overly strong reproductive power of the demon beasts, with the land unable to sustain so many growing demon beasts.

At this time, either various demon beast races fight among themselves or find an outlet to divert the conflict.

High-tier demon beasts greatly increase in intelligence, the demon kings of various demon beast races unite, expelling low-tier demon beasts to attack human forces.

By doing so, they can reduce beast numbers and also fight back against the encroaching human cultivators.

The flesh of cultivators is a great supplement for demon beasts, allowing them to sustain battles, leading to the birth of more powerful demon beasts within the races.

Ye Changqing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

“Junior Brother, how do you find the sect’s atmosphere?”

“Pretty good, everyone has a common goal, there’s no infighting.”

Ye Changqing rubbed his forehead, amused:

“I asked the wrong person. You have ample cultivation resources and rarely go out; you haven’t encountered much intrigue.

There’s plenty of open and secret battling for cultivation resources, thankfully the ancestor keeps everything in check.

The world isn’t all rosy, nor are Central Continent cultivators wholly trustworthy.

Some Central Continent sects just want us to be a wall against the demon calamity and obedient dogs, not wanting the Western Continent cultivators to become too strong.”

He didn’t delve into darker matters, where there are people, there is conflict, it’s just human nature.

Cultivators are also people, with desires; low-tier cultivators don’t need to cultivate the heart. Barring a longer life, they aren’t much different from ordinary people in essence.

Red Flame Peak has been coveted before, with cultivators trying to use connections to have Junior Brother Ji conscripted into the Law Enforcement Hall, to fight demons on the frontline.

The purpose of this is self-evident.

The situation hasn’t forced high-tier spirit farmers to the battlefield, especially not someone with significant importance like a high-tier spirit farmer, so the Diligence Hall rejected the conscription order.

Ji An was silent, his journey of cultivation since crossing over had indeed been smooth, not experiencing much worldly peril.

If you think about it, there’s little difference between human cultivators and demon beasts.

If there are too many cultivators, then the Spirit Vein Nodes can’t sustain too many cultivators absorbing the Spiritual Mechanism.

Since embarking on the path of cultivation, which cultivator wouldn’t want to progress?

However, the resources are limited, and inevitably the distribution will be uneven. At this point, one must compete and strive for resources to sustain cultivation.

The good thing is that High-Tier Cultivators better understand sustainable development and will proactively control the number of cultivators.

The Meridian Opening Pill is the first hurdle. By simply reducing the supply of this pill, the number of cultivators would immediately decrease significantly.

Spirit farming is much the same. A single Spirit Field can only cultivate one hundred Spirit Trees. If one plants a hundred and fifty, the Spiritual Vein will be overly exhausted and eventually deplete.

To ensure that the Spirit Field can yield continuously, it is necessary to control the number of Spirit Plants.

Ye Changqing smiled broadly, raised his cup, and said:

“Why are we talking about such discouraging things? Come, let’s drink!”

“Junior Brother, just do your best to improve your cultivation. The higher your cultivation, the less likely you are to encounter troubling matters.”

“To drinking.”

Ji An smiled, knowing from his previous life that when one becomes strong, the whole world becomes amiable towards him.

…

Half a month passed.

Li Minghui piloted a Flying Shuttle to Red Flame Peak. She gazed down at the second-tier Spirit Plants, shimmering with brilliance in the Spirit Field, and the blooming peach blossoms, unable to suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth.

The Flying Shuttle slowly descended to the Cold Pool, and she spoke first:

“If all the sect’s Spirit Farmers had Junior Brother’s ability, Luofeng Valley would have already been trodden under our feet.”

The reason why the Alchemists of Luofeng Valley had an endless supply of Spirit Medicines for refining is due to their strong team of Spirit Farmers.

In comparison, Spirit Farming is a shortcoming of the sect, limiting the growth of the Beast Taming Hall.

Junior Brother Ji has been stationed at Red Flame Peak for over twenty years and cultivated seventy to eighty-tier two Spirit Plants, an achievement unmatched by any other cultivator in the sect.

It would be unrealistic to expect many more, but with five or six Spirit Farmers of such caliber, the sect’s foundation would rapidly strengthen.

Imagine if there were an extra five hundred-tier two Spirit Woods, the sect’s annual output of lower-grade tier two resources would increase by about twenty percent.

After accumulating over time and further cultivating middle-grade tier two Spirit Woods, it would significantly support Chao Origin Stage cultivators.

“Senior Sister’s compliments make me feel embarrassed. I just prefer a simple pace of life; tending to the Spirit Field is quite straightforward.”

Ji An smiled, knowing he could leverage cultivation for resources, and combined with the characteristics of the Stone Turtle, he naturally opted to settle on a piece of land.

He led the guest to the living room, where they both took their seats.

After some small talk, Li Minghui spoke directly:

“Junior Brother, my master has already arranged for the pills needed to nurture the Five-Colored Deer, and the plan is set to begin.

Starting next month, every three days, I will send other junior brothers and sisters to collect fresh mulberry leaves.

Make sure they use tender mulberry leaves harvested within three days, remember this.”

The looming calamity of the demon beasts has begun to cast its shadow. If the master can nurture the Chao Origin Stage beast tamers sooner, they will be better equipped to face the storms and play a more significant role.

“Rest assured, Senior Sister. I will definitely commit myself fully to Junior Martial Uncle He’s matters, how would I dare to be negligent?”

The client has already paid a deposit, and the spirit stones will be settled on time afterward.

Besides, in case anything goes wrong, it would be too much for him to handle.

“There must be no slip-ups regarding my master’s matters, I was just emphasizing, hope you don’t mind, Junior Brother.”

Li Minghui explained and then said:

“Now, the Biluo Fruits that are ripe can be traded to me. I have brought the Spirit Disc, so we can complete the transaction directly.”

The sect rules state that Contribution Points and Small Merits in the cultivator’s Jade Token cannot be exchanged among each other, but cultivators can post bounty tasks to complete transactions.

The sect will take a small portion of the Contribution Points as a sort of consumption channel for them.

Normally, such transactions are required to be completed in each hall, but Li Minghui is the Vice Hall Master of the Beast Taming Hall, so she has the authority to bring out the sect’s Spirit Disc.

“Over the years, six Biluo Trees have matured, producing three hundred and sixty fruits. Another eight are maturing and are expected to yield over four hundred more fruits.”

Though there are over twenty-tier two Biluo Trees, only this many are expected to bear fruit in the next two or three years.

Ji An instructed:

“Yu Han, go to the warehouse and bring the second-tier Biluo Fruits.”

He reserved twenty-five fruits with himself, just in case.

“Junior Brother has been such a great help, originally our supplies were tight, but now they are much more adequate. This favor, the Yunhe Mountain lineage will remember.”

Li Minghui smiled kindly, as the fifty-six-tier two Jade Leaf Mulberries at Red Flame Peak greatly exceeded expectations, leaving only a minor gap in the supply of mulberry leaves.

With the Spirit Fruits combined, so many resources poured in significantly increase the odds for the Five-Colored Deer to break through.

“It is my honor to help Junior Martial Uncle He.”

With everyone eager to push him, Ji An spoke his flattering words without changing his expression.

“The peach blossoms have blossomed; should Spirit Peaches bear fruit, please prioritize us, Junior Brother.”

Li Minghui stated that even though the Five-Colored Deer could convert the power of the Five Elements, it would inevitably incur losses.

It would be best to consume more varieties of Spirit Fruits.

“No problem, I’ll send some Spirit Peaches to Master’s Grotto Mansion to taste, keeping a few to try myself. The rest can be considered for trade with Senior Sister.”

“The lower-grade-tier two Spirit Peaches submitted to the sect are worth five Small Merits each, and we will pay Junior Brother this same price.

For every ten fruits traded, four more Small Merits will be added.”

Spirit Peaches, being Fire Element Plants, are more sought after among cultivators, so she offered more reward.

“Alright, let’s proceed as Senior Sister said.”