Gu Yuan had not anticipated that the Heaven-Revealing Spirit Eye would require so many spirit stones before now.

After all, the Little Giant Divine Wood only cost around four hundred spirit stones.

But sometimes, cultivation is just this peculiar.

Superior magic doesn’t necessarily consume a lot, but magic that consumes a lot is certainly superior.

The Heaven-Revealing Spirit Eye may not be more profound than the Seed Body Seal, but since it requires such vast resources, it must be a superior technique.

Since it’s a superior technique, it must be cultivated.

Moreover, with this technique, all the methods in the Tribulation Cultivation Treasure Manual - no, the Cultivation Treasure Manual - can also be used without fear of being ambushed again.

Therefore, Gu Yuan has been figuring out ways to gather money these days.

He does have some clues, mainly because he owns an extremely precious treasure.

Jade Bottle!

In a year’s time, the jade bottle has accumulated twelve drops of Stone Liquid, and Gu Yuan has never wasted any, always carefully observing the opportunities each time.

Moreover, he evenly distributed his attention, observing "Apprenticeship," "Cultivation," "Dharma Seal," and "Spirit Stones" multiple times each.

Unfortunately, the results are not substantial.

After all, the Cyan Peak Daoist School is only so big; if there were opportunities, Gu Yuan would have already discovered them.

A year’s time is also hardly enough for new opportunities to appear.

However, it was not entirely fruitless. Last month, while observing "Spirit Stone Wealth," Gu Yuan discovered an opportunity tinged with a silver light amidst a bluish hue.

"If a spirit stone opportunity carries a trace of silver light, it must be worth at least nearly a thousand spirit stones. If he can seize this opportunity, cultivating the Heaven-Revealing Spirit Eye would be more than sufficient, and he could earn a fortune on top of that.

Thinking of this, Gu Yuan delayed no longer, quickly washing up, donning the Cloud Boots, tying up his hair with a Jade Hairpin, tidying up his appearance before leaving Qianyuan Cave, and flying on the Jade Shuttle towards the place indicated by the opportunity.

...

...

Spiritual Crane Island.

This island is one of the many under the Spirit Beast Hall of the Cyan Peak Daoist School, and it is very vast. A large number of spirit beasts live on the island, but the most numerous are a type known as "Cangyun Spiritual Crane," which are middle-grade spirit beasts.

Like demon beasts, spirit beasts are generally divided into high, middle, and low grades.

Low-grade demon beasts generally do not surpass Qi Refining Fifth Layer in strength. Middle-grade demon beasts usually do not exceed Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and the strongest high-grade demon beasts can compare to Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

The combat power of demon beasts is complex, their spiritual wisdom varies, so their grades are more chaotic, and there’s no detailed classification like among human cultivators; it’s relatively rough.

And demon creatures above high-grade are usually called Earth Demons, whose strength can compare to Foundation Establishment Cultivators, possessing some mysterious and strange abilities.

Above Earth Demons are Great Demons that can fight Golden Core cultivators on even ground, being extremely formidable.

Further above that, they can be referred to as Demon Kings, equivalent to Daoist Embryos, like dragons appearing and disappearing indistinctly.

Although Cangyun Spiritual Cranes are only middle-grade demon beasts, they are extremely pleasing to the eye, as white as snow with wings like ink splashes, exuding immortal charm and spirituality, and they are incredibly fast, even comparable to high-grade spirit beasts, making them an excellent tool for transportation.

The Cyan Peak Daoist School raises many, and thus the entire island was named Spiritual Crane Island.

Like Silverfish Island, this place is also guarded by an array, and only those from the Spirit Beast Hall can enter.

But how could something like this be difficult for Gu Yuan? He followed the same method as before, taking on a task of collecting spider silk from the Fate Hall and then easily entered Spiritual Crane Island.

"Senior Brother Gu, I’m really troubling you!"

"The Cloud Spider is naturally irritable, and after laying eggs recently, it has become incredibly volatile. Without Qi Refining Seventh Layer strength, one simply cannot enter its nest to collect the spider silk."

"A few days ago, a senior brother was bitten while passing in front of its nest, so please be careful!"

A young girl in a colorful long dress with a cute face was leading Gu Yuan while gently reminding him.

On Spiritual Crane Island, though Cangyun Spiritual Cranes are most numerous, there are also many other demon beasts, mostly those capable of yielding something or with strategic value.

After all, there are many disciples in the Daoist School, and it must have its spirit material production areas; otherwise, it cannot sustain such extensive consumption.

The Cloud Spider is one of the middle-grade spirit beasts, capable of producing a type of silk called "Colored Cloud Silk," which is an important spiritual material for refining Daoist Robes.

"Thank you for the information, junior sister; I’ll definitely be careful!"

Gu Yuan replied with a smile.

Then, the two of them, riding on Dharma Artifacts, crossed the forest and finally stopped in front of a white cave.

The cave was deep and dark, with the end not in sight, and only a fierce aura emanating from within.

"Senior Brother... ahead, ahead is the nest of the Cloud Spider, please be very careful!"

The colorful-clad maiden handed Gu Yuan a jade bottle etched with bird-shaped seal text, speaking cautiously.

She was only at Qi Refining Fifth Layer and dared not get close.

"No worries, don’t move from here and wait for my return."

Gu Yuan took the jade bottle with a serene smile and leisurely entered the cave.

Only the maiden was left standing tensely before the cave, staring nervously at the entrance.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

Before long, violent screeching erupted from within the cave, making the maiden’s heart pound and her delicate brows furrow deeply.

But the sound came quickly and left just as swiftly.

Just as the maiden’s worry was mounting, Gu Yuan emerged from the cave, holding the jade bottle with a relaxed demeanor.

"Junior sister, mission accomplished!"

Gu Yuan tossed the jade bottle to the maiden and smiled faintly.

"Wow!"

"It’s really Colored Cloud Silk, you are amazing, senior brother!"

The maiden opened the jade bottle and found a clump of cloud-like fine silk lying quietly inside, and instantly began to exclaim excitedly.

In its egg-laying state, the Cloud Spider is extremely irritable and quite formidable, posing a challenge even for cultivators at Qi Refining Seventh Layer. Previously, a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator spent a full hour collecting spider silk, while Gu Yuan took only seconds. The enormous disparity made stars appear in the maiden’s eyes.

"Collecting a clump of spider silk fetches five spirit stones!"

"With senior brother’s prowess, earning twenty spirit stones a day is practically effortless!"

The maiden’s expression was filled with expectation, but then she sighed softly:

"Alas, it’s not possible to collect endless spider silk, otherwise senior brother could earn a hundred spirit stones in a day, couldn’t you?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan simply shook his head with a small laugh.

Toiling away, that’s never going to happen in this life.

As the Cultivation Treasure Manual clearly states, diligent cultivation with sweat and toil rarely achieves great things.

Even if not becoming a Tribulation Cultivator, one must find ways to expand financial resources, either by taking tasks outside the Fate Hall or learning a means of generating wealth.

Spending all day collecting silk, is that a long-term plan?

"Junior sister, if you have business, there’s no need to accompany me. Some Cloud Spiders can’t trouble me. Once I’m done collecting silk, I’ll go straight to handle procedures."

Gu Yuan said.

His true purpose in coming was not for collecting silk.

With others around, it’s inconvenient to take action.

"Then, I shall leave it to you, senior brother. I need to go cut grass for the Cangyun Spiritual Cranes, which earns three spirit stones if done well!"

The maiden was delighted upon hearing this.

Since a cultivator’s time is precious, especially for someone from a humble lineage like her, she could do more without having to accompany Gu Yuan.

After a few more exchanges of pleasantries, the maiden departed.

Amidst the dense forest and caves, only Gu Yuan remained.

He next ventured to two other caves, collecting two more lots of spider silk, and after verifying that no one was nearby, he changed direction and headed eastward on Spiritual Crane Island.

The east side boasted flourishing forests with ancient, towering trees, the number of years they’ve grown unknown.

The further east he went, the lower the terrain became, gradually entering a valley where the trees grew increasingly robust, ancient trees reaching the sky, with countless vines hanging down, as if blocking even the sunlight.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

The sound of monkeys gradually began to echo through the valley.

Gu Yuan continued his steps undeterred, pressing forward.

"Rumble rumble!"

Suddenly, the sound of rushing water rose ahead.

Gu Yuan looked up to see a waterfall crashing downwards, scattering countless droplets of water, the noise overwhelmingly loud.

Seeing this, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

The Stone Liquid indicated the opportunity was just ahead.

But... with the waterfall blocking the path, where is the opportunity?

"Could it be..."

Gu Yuan gazed at the surging waterfall thoughtfully.