Free Web NovelChapter 466: Chapter 396: Vajra Bodhi
At this moment, Netherworld True Monarch greatly admired his own acting skills. He now came up with a brilliant plan, which was to continue stalling here.
In that case, no one would suspect he already held the World Core in his hand.
If his prediction was correct, Profound Yin Old Ghost of the Shadowless Sect would arrive in the next couple of days. At that time, they could perform a complete play together.
One should get rich secretly; if it becomes widely known, who knows what kind of covetous eyes it would attract.
The foundation of the Earth Evil Sect is still insufficient; acquiring a Little World cannot be made known to others.
Whenever they can have half the foundation of a Central Continent Major Sect, then they might have reached the peak.
The Golden Core Cultivator would never expect that the sect ancestor was merely acting, and he dejectedly took the stone back.
The number of people in the team was dwindling continuously, and those cultivators who had been checked left immediately, without pausing for a moment.
It quickly became Ji An’s and another’s turn. Under the Divine Sense probe of the Golden Core Daoist Master, he had no choice but to take out all his belongings.
The Grotto Void Stone, Curious Pendant, and Storage Bag were turned inside out, but the Grotto Void Stone luckily escaped the inspection.
Ji An’s eyes lowered, revealing a gloomy expression.
These Earth Evil Sect cultivators were doing it deliberately. Items like the World Core couldn’t possibly be placed into other storage spaces, just like a storage bag cannot contain another storage bag.
The only piece of good news was that the Earth Evil Sect cultivators responsible for checking his items didn’t deliberately confiscate anything.
After inspecting the bottles and jars in the storage bag, Sangji became very excited; besides some Spirit Stones, there were also some Tier Two Spirit Tea and Spirit Fruit.
This implies that there must be even more good items in the Grotto Void Stone.
He raised the Curious Pendant without a hint of expression and asked provocatively:
"What is this thing? Why would a cultivator keep something without Spiritual Qi?"
His Divine Sense delved into the pendant and found it was indistinguishable from an ordinary stone.
"It has special significance for me."
Ji An endeavored to maintain a calm tone; if it weren’t for the presence of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators from the Earth Evil Sect around, the fellow before him would already have been a corpse.
Sangji chuckled softly, allowing some corpse dust on his fingertips to stain the pendant slightly.
"You may leave."
Ever since they learned they had to check the storage bags of these treasure-hunting cultivators, many of their sect had begun marking the fat sheep.
They didn’t touch any items of the truly fat sheep because they knew these cultivators wouldn’t escape death.
The scent of corpse dust could last for years, and unless these cultivators left immediately and moved far away, they would inevitably be tracked down.
Two Golden Core Stage junior martial uncles were also involved in this, and in time, they would provide assistance.
Ji An collected his belongings, waiting for his senior sister.
Sangji subtly smeared corpse dust on the Grotto Void Stone and signaled with a wave of his hand:
"You may leave too."
He turned his head to look at the two departing on clouds, a sinister cold smile curling at his lips.
’I’ll let you enjoy a few more days of happiness.’
...
The two flew towards Rongman Immortal City; Han Yan let out a sigh and said:
"That was unexpected. I thought they would seize the opportunity to confiscate many of our items."
She had already prepared for the loss of some possessions, yet losing nothing made her feel somewhat surreal.
Ji An chuckled lightly:
"Maybe they thought we wouldn’t be easy to provoke. I found many Chao Origin Stage cultivators were readily released."
Without any losses, he felt a weight lifted from his heart.
He suspected that the Earth Evil Sect perhaps feared invoking public outrage, as forcibly checking a cultivator’s possessions was indeed a big taboo and would certainly stir dissatisfaction among cultivators.
Upon further thought, however, he felt this reasoning was unlikely.
The Earth Evil Sect, being the top Nascent Soul Stage Sect in the Southern Continent, doesn’t need to pay heed to a group of cultivators who haven’t even reached the Golden Core Stage.
"The Earth Evil Sect has occupied Lantao Mountain. I believe some Shadowless Sect cultivators will inevitably arrive,
Junior Brother, I feel it would be wise to stay in Rongman Immortal City for a while to avoid possible dangers."
Han Yan suggested, as any conflict between two Nascent Soul Stage Sects would have fallout capable of blasting junior cultivators like them into fragments.
Don’t even mention the Nascent Soul Level clashes; even the Golden Core Level battle remnants were too much for them to handle.
Ji An nodded slightly and said:
"Senior Sister makes sense, let’s do that."
In that case, he would have more time to wander around the Immortal City, and perhaps he might stumble upon some good items.
He subconsciously patted the Curious Pendant hanging around his neck, this treasured artifact was an unexpected acquisition from the Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City, and over the years it had contributed a lot of Gen Spirit and Kun Spirit.
In the early morning, Ji An and his companion landed in Rongman Immortal City and revisited the tavern from last time, ordering the same table of Spiritual Food.
Seeing them arrive, the shopkeeper warmly brought out a bottle of wine to personally serve and laughed:
"You must have gained immensely from your trip to Lantao Mountain. This pot of turbid wine is a gift from our humble shop."
If he hadn’t known the cultivation of the cultivators at first, it might have been understandable not to come out and greet; now that he knew their cultivation, he dared not show the slightest neglect.
Ji An teased:
"Haha, thanks! You’re not afraid of us leaving suddenly, are you?"
The shopkeeper’s smile became even more amicable, and he said with a grateful smile:
"You must be joking; bestowing a pot of wine to cultivators dining at our establishment is standard practice here."
Ji An nodded with satisfaction and asked:
"I have a question. We want to purchase some Five Elements Essence here. Which shops are recommended?
Our purchase volume is considerable, and we need the essence of the Fire Element and Earth Element."
The innkeeper is undoubtedly a local figure, and a well-informed one at that, who surely knows where the goods are complete.
"Senior, you need to go to Phoenix Street, where Artifact Refiners gather. Shops there deal in the two essences you’ve mentioned."
"Are there shops selling Spirit Seeds here?"
Ji An asked further, hoping to enrich the variety of Spirit Wood at Red Flame Peak, which would bring him more substantial returns.
The price of goods is determined by supply and demand. If he massively plants one type of Spirit Wood, it would only result in reduced income.
"On Cyan Dragon Street, many Grocery Stores run by Cultivation Clans are gathered, Senior can browse there, perhaps you’ll find satisfactory results."
Han Yan asked several more questions, all of which were earnestly answered by the innkeeper.
Moments later, a clerk brought up the signature dish, allowing the shopkeeper to leave.
"The taste is quite good, only slightly inferior to Red Flame Peak."
Han Yan laughed, saying the Spiritual Food here had a different flavor from the Western Continent, offering a novel experience.
"I’m not worthy of Senior Sister’s praise; each flavor has its merit, Red Flame Peak excels in superior ingredients."
After finishing their meal, Ji An and Han Yan left the inn and rented a Grotto Mansion.
"Senior Sister, I haven’t slept well for a long while. If there’s no urgent matter, please don’t awaken me this time."
"Alright, I’m planning to sleep well too."
Ji An entered the Grotto Mansion and summoned Golden Fur and Rock Armor Bear, instructing:
"You two will be responsible for vigilance. If any cultivator enters the mansion, notify me immediately."
"Squeak, squeak," Golden Fur nodded, and Rock Armor Bear let out a low growl.
...
The next day, explosive news spread throughout the Immortal City: a battle at Nascent Soul Stage had taken place near Lantao Mountain.
If it weren’t for the two Daoist Monarchs cautiously controlling the battle’s scope, Lantao Mountain might have turned into Rotten Peach Valley.
This dramatic development was entirely unrelated to the sleeping Ji An couple.
After sleeping for two consecutive days, they awoke and went to purchase Five Elements Essence together.
Ji An splashed out a whopping ten thousand Spirit Stones, buying up most of the Fire Element and Earth Element Essences from various Artifact Refining Shops.
Though his Top-grade Spirit Stones were spent, he still had plenty of Middle-grade and Lower-grade Spirit Stones.
During their shopping spree, they learned about the battle between Nascent Soul Cultivators in the Lantao Mountain region.
The next day, Ji An and Han Yan arrived at Cyan Dragon Street.
Han Yan sold some Pill medicine, gaining considerable profit. Some pills common in the Western Continent fetched higher prices here.
They walked into a large shop, and Ji An asked:
"Shopkeeper, do you sell high-tier Spirit Seeds? They need to be above Tier Two Middle Grade. I’m willing to exchange seeds of the same tier."
"What Spirit Seeds could you offer, fellow Daoist?"
The shopkeeper was intrigued; he happened to have Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Seeds.
Hearing this, Ji An was pleased and said:
"I have Spiritual Peach, Celestial Essence Pear, Dragon Blood Tree, Earth Spirit Fruit Tree, Biluo Tree, and several other Top-grade Spirit Seeds. Do they catch your interest, fellow Daoist?"
The shopkeeper’s eyes immediately shone with delight, and he said:
"Fellow Daoist, I’m quite interested in Celestial Essence Pear and Dragon Blood Fruit. Could I have a look?"
To have a Tier Two Upper Grade Celestial Essence Pear cultivated surprised him.
Their family is predominantly in the Pill medicine business and has planted large quantities of Spirit Fruits and Spirit Medicine, including Celestial Essence Pear.
The family has cultivated Celestial Essence Pear for over two hundred years, but their highest achievement has only been Tier Two Middle Grade, never higher.
"That’s certainly possible."
Ji An took out two Jade Boxes, extracting one seed each from within.
One was the size of a pigeon egg, with a brown outer shell, light blue wave patterns, and a few spots of dark blue, representing the Celestial Essence Pear.
The other was slightly larger, with a flame-patterned outer shell, occasionally flashing with fiery red glow.
The shopkeeper carefully assessed both Spirit Seeds, resisting laughter, and said:
"They are indeed Tier Two Upper Grade Spirit Seeds. Fellow Daoist has impressive skills."
Ji An smiled and said:
"Fellow Daoist, what Spirit Seeds do you propose for exchange?"
The shopkeeper took out a palm-sized exquisite Jade Box, opened it, and pushed it toward Ji An:
"Fellow Daoist, could you guess what Spirit Wood seed this is?"
The box was lined with red satin, containing an egg-shaped pale gold seed, smooth on the surface and manifesting a muted metallic sheen.
Ji An picked up the seed, feeling its cool weight, and channeling Divine Sense, discerned it was a Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Seed of the Metal Element.
"I’m ill-informed; I can’t recognize this Spirit Seed. Please enlighten me, fellow Daoist."
The shopkeeper smiled confidently and said:
"Fellow Daoist, have you heard of Vajra Bodhi?"
