Chapter 144: Chapter 143: Ancestor Yangg Summons Again

The five hundred mu of Tier Two Spirit Fields were chosen with Elder Tong’s help. He said the land was fertile and connected to an underground river.

This would ensure a plentiful water supply when the Dragon Tooth Rice began to grow.

From over fifty Spirit Plant Masters, the twenty best were selected. Each was assigned twenty-five mu of Spirit Fields to manage.

As for the three Tier Two Spirit Plant Masters, they were all kept on to provide assistance as consultants.

After all, Dragon Tooth Rice was a Tier Two Top-Grade Spirit Rice. Even with the most difficult initial work out of the way, unexpected situations could still arise during cultivation that would be difficult for Tier One Spirit Plant Masters to handle.

Since these three had come to Feiyue Lake to sign up, they clearly wanted something from Bai Zichen, and they had been working diligently for the past two months.

’Fortunately, raising Spirit Plants isn’t as much of a money pit as Alchemy or Artifact Refining. I can just about manage...’

Bai Zichen calculated his expenses. He had converted his remaining Sect Contribution and next year’s stipend into 3,500 Spirit Stones.

The majority of Spirit Plant Masters were Cultivators from poor backgrounds, precisely because practicing it didn’t cost many Spirit Stones.

Elder Tong provided the Spirit Rice Seeds for planting in the Spirit Fields. The number of Spirit Stones required during the process was minimal; the main cost was the salaries for the Spirit Plant Masters.

In comparison, the income of a Spirit Plant Master was generally not high and couldn’t be compared to that of an Alchemist.

Take the Tier Two Peak Spirit Plant Master from the Shennong Sect, for example. Thanks to the prestige of the Shennong Sect and his mastery of a High-Level Technique for adjusting Spiritual Qi to promote Spirit Plant growth, he had an excellent reputation with his previous employers.

He had to travel thousands of miles to Black Mountain to earn a salary of three hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for ten years of work.

More importantly, he himself was a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

A local, ordinary Tier Two Low-Grade Spirit Plant Master with only a Qi Refining Stage cultivation base would consider it a bountiful year if they earned five hundred Spirit Stones.

"I’ll have to ask you all to look after this place. I’ve taken note of all your requests, and I will bring them up when the opportunity arises."

For the sake of his grandson and for the Tong Family to become a well-established Cultivation Family in the future, Elder Tong had not only offered up the Dragon Tooth Rice Seeds but had also poured his heart and soul into the Spirit Fields, refusing any payment.

As for the other three, two of them wanted to secure a good position in the soon-to-be-established Spirit Field Hall.

The last one was simply trying to curry favor, hoping to build a good relationship for the future.

Bai Zichen entrusted the farming matters to the Tier Two Spirit Plant Masters and returned to the White Jade Tower.

The prospects for the Dragon Tooth Rice looked excellent. As long as the planting was successful, it would generate a large sum of Spirit Stones for him every year.

But he couldn’t ignore the fact that his reputation had played a huge, unseen role in achieving results so quickly.

If not for the name Bai Zichen, a man seen as a Chosen One with the potential for Core Formation, why would so many people have flocked to him, fighting to join his service?

’Cultivation is the foundation. I mustn’t get my priorities mixed up...’

He had originally planned to apply for another five thousand mu of Tier One Spirit Fields, but after some thought, he decided to slow his pace.

He sent Cai Heng over to learn from the Tier Two Spirit Plant Masters and manage the Spirit Fields on his behalf.

He instructed him to wait until the Tier Two Spirit Fields were on the right track before applying to the Sect for Tier One Spirit Fields in batches of one thousand mu.

The care for Tier One Spirit Fields could be less intensive, so the requirements for Spirit Plant Masters could be relaxed significantly.

As for the specific technical aspects, he told him to just listen to whatever Elder Tong said.

Before entering closed-door cultivation, he called over a chubby little boy and gave him some instructions.

It was none other than Bai Zichen’s first Registered Disciple, Tong Huan.

There was no way he could teach an eight-year-old child himself. After selecting a basic Cultivation Technique suitable for Tong Huan’s Spiritual Root, he handed him over to Lu Song.

Lu Song was to teach Tong Huan common knowledge of the Cultivation Realm and the basic secrets of cultivation.

Although Lu Song came from a Loose Cultivator background, his foundation was exceptionally solid. He was more than qualified to be an introductory teacher.

When Tong Huan was a few years older, Bai Zichen would naturally assume the responsibilities of a master and offer his Registered Disciple some guidance.

’This time, I only exchanged for one bottle of Spirit Enhancement Pills. I’ll use it to see how much faster my cultivation speed can be with the help of elixirs...’

Bai Zichen was short on funds; he had to save those few thousand Spirit Stones to pay the Spirit Plant Masters’ salaries.

He could only scrape together enough to exchange for a single bottle of Spirit Enhancement Pills.

This was the first time he had taken an elixir to improve his cultivation since reaching Foundation Establishment. The moment he swallowed it, it transformed into a surge of Spiritual Power.

The Magical Power in his limbs and bones felt like it was boiling, directly enveloping the waves of Spiritual Power within it.

DRIP! DRIP!

In just a short while, three drops of Spiritual Liquid had already fallen into his Qi Sea.

’In nine days, I can completely refine one Spirit Enhancement Pill.’

Bai Zichen determined the optimal interval for him to take the Spirit Enhancement Pills.

Taking one every nine days would not only ensure the elixir’s effects were maximized, but it would also prevent him from developing a resistance prematurely from uncontrolled consumption, which would greatly reduce the elixir’s effectiveness.

Or, if the medicinal power wasn’t fully absorbed, it would settle in the body and accumulate over time, forming what was known as Erysipelas.

’Back then, Senior Brother Peng said he used one bottle of Spirit Enhancement Pills in half a year. At my rate, it won’t even take me two months...’

At a stroke, this increased his annual expenditure on Spirit Enhancement Pills threefold.

As for the effect of refining Liquid Magical Power, it was about what he had expected.

Bai Zichen cast aside his worries about the Spirit Stone expenditure and took the second Spirit Enhancement Pill nine days later.

...

"Old Turtle, when are you going to break through? Your turtle children and grandchildren are about to overrun my beach."

Early in the morning, Bai Zichen arrived at the Lake Heart Island, saw the thousand-year-old turtle that was as large as a small mountain, and teased it.

The old turtle glanced at him with its lantern-sized eyes, then closed them, ignoring him completely.

There were two slight bumps on its head. Once its Dragon Blood manifested and it broke through to Tier Three, two small horns would grow, and it would become a Dragon Turtle.

However, the advancement of a Demon Beast was an extremely long process, especially for a turtle-type Demon Beast that was also linked to the Dragon Race’s bloodline, which was the most difficult to break through.

It was perfectly normal for this final step to outlast two Core Formation True Men.

Otherwise, the saying "Raise a turtle-type Spirit Beast, and the turtle will still be there after you’re gone; one turtle can be passed down for ten generations" wouldn’t be so common in the Cultivation Realm.

Ancestor Yangg had set up another Array on the island. Bai Zichen had been summoned, so he simply flashed his Elder Token and entered.

A faint mist permeated the island.

Bai Zichen knew this was no ordinary mist, but rather an external manifestation of Spiritual Qi that had reached a certain density.

’Spiritual Qi condensing into mist... this place is infinitely close to becoming a Tier Four Spirit Land. If it were just a bit stronger, it could even be used by a Perfect Core Formation Cultivator for their Nascent Soul formation.’

Bai Zichen knew from Ancient Texts that the final step of ascending to the Nascent Soul realm, the transformation of the Golden Core into a Nascent Soul, required a terrifying amount of Spiritual Qi.

In a single breath, it would consume all the Spiritual Qi within a thousand feet.

If the grade of the Spiritual Qi was insufficient, it would affect the Nascent Soul formation.

And the minimum requirement for ascending to the Nascent Soul realm was a Tier Four Low-Grade Spirit Land.

"Greetings, Ancestor."

Bai Zichen reached the center of the island and found Su Li already waiting to the side. It seemed she had received the notice as well.

The previous night, his Elder Token had flashed, and golden characters had appeared directly on it—a phenomenon that only occurred when a Core Formation True Man left a message using a token with the highest authority.

It had ordered him to come to the island today to receive instructions, so he had stopped his cultivation and come over early.

He hadn’t expected Su Li to be even earlier; she had probably arrived on the island at the crack of dawn.

Ancestor Yangg was sitting cross-legged on a Cold Ice Bed. A skin-piercing chill could be felt even from a distance, and two wisps of black qi moved across his face.

After a good while, the black qi finally disappeared, and his complexion returned to normal.

"You two are the most outstanding disciples of this generation in the Sect. I’m taking you on this trip to broaden your horizons... Make some friends. When I’m gone, it will be up to you to deal with people!"

Master Yangg put the Cold Ice Bed into his storage bag and summoned a Flying Ship whose surface was covered in countless scales.

Each scale contained a terrifying power.

It was a Low-Grade Flying Treasure, the Taiyi Golden Scale Ship.

With a wave of his hand, Ancestor Yangg brought the three of them inside the Flying Ship. It turned into a streak of golden light, moving like lightning, and in a flash, they were already outside the Grand Array of Feiyue Lake.

The Taiyi Golden Scale Ship flew for more than another three thousand li deep into Black Mountain before turning east.

"Ancestor, where are you taking us?"

Bai Zichen could feel that the Flying Ship’s speed was several times faster than his own Sound Bamboo Sword at full power. The gulf between a Magical Treasure and a Spiritual Artifact was just that vast.

Some Top-Grade Magical Artifacts could approach the level of a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

But no matter what, even a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact could never hope to match a Magical Treasure.

"The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect."

Ancestor Yangg uttered just four short words.

"The Ten Thousand Beasts Sect? The number one sect in Mizhou, ranked among the top three in all of Liang Country?"

Bai Zichen and Su Li looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never heard of their Sect having any deep relationship with the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

Previously, for Wei Dao’s centennial birthday celebration, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect had sent a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to offer congratulations, but that was merely a superficial courtesy.

"I have a good relationship with a Core Formation True Man from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. We once fought side-by-side against Demon Path Cultivators, and we’ve kept in touch over the years... I’m going to the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect this time to ask for a drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, to see if they’ll give this old man some face."

When trying to break through to Core Formation, there was no Holy Medicine like the Foundation Establishment Pill for the Foundation Establishment stage. A Core Formation Spiritual Object like Clear Spirit Jade Marrow only increased the probability of success by ten percent.

In the entire Cultivation Realm of Liang Country, the most effective Core Formation Spiritual Object was undoubtedly the Enlightenment Lotus Seed from the Holy Lotus Sect.

Taking one during Core Formation could greatly enhance one’s Divine Sense and increase the probability of success by nearly twenty percent.

But only three Enlightenment Lotus Seeds were produced every hundred years, which was far from enough even for the Holy Lotus Sect’s internal use.

In terms of quantity, it couldn’t compare to the Secret Realm of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, which also gave outsiders a chance to obtain its treasures.

"I’ve heard that Clear Spirit Jade Marrow sells for twenty thousand Spirit Stones per drop. We can just buy it... If there are too many Cultivators competing for it, can’t we just offer double the Spirit Stones? Why would you need to go and ask for a favor, Ancestor?"

Every Foundation Establishment Cultivator would subconsciously learn about Core Formation Spiritual Objects, just as Qi Refining Cultivators studied Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects.

Su Li was no exception.

"Twenty thousand Spirit Stones?"

Ancestor Yangg scoffed as if he had heard a joke.

"You go and try. Take forty thousand Spirit Stones to buy a drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow and see if the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect even bothers with you."

"Their selling price is indeed twenty thousand Spirit Stones per drop, but they are selective about who they sell to... For every drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, the buyer owes the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect a favor."

"In a hundred years, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect has grown from an ordinary Core Formation Sect to one of the major sects in Liang Country, capable of single-handedly changing the course of the war between the Righteous and Demonic Dao. Just imagine, because of the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow, how many Core Formation True Men and Core Formation level powers owe the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect favors..."