novelraw Chapter 182 : Preparation and Instigation
Chapter 182 : Preparation and Instigation
Chapter 182: Preparation and Instigation
When Real Person Xuan Shui sent the message, he had said for Ji Yuan to go to Water Dragon Island in a few days. Judging from the experience of that previous mission, once he went there next time, they would depart immediately.
Therefore, in these few days, Ji Yuan definitely had to arrange the matters of Misty Island first.
Just as he was thinking of putting away the Messaging Talisman, another Messaging Talisman in the Storage Pouch suddenly lit up.
He took it out and looked.
Liu Yuan.
Injecting spiritual energy, Liu Yuan’s voice rang out.
“Brother Ji, has the mission arrived?”
Ji Yuan probed with two words, “Spirit Vein?”
Liu Yuan quickly replied, “Same, see you at Water Dragon Island.”
“See you at Water Dragon Island.”
Receiving this news, Ji Yuan was not flustered but still breathed a sigh of relief. Teaming up with Liu Yuan again—good, very good.
No matter what, this teammate Liu Yuan… was not a useless teammate. He was low-profile, did not like to stir up trouble, had a background, and his strength was quite formidable.
Of course, the main point was that the two of them “shared the same taste.”
Thinking for a moment, Ji Yuan sent another message to ask.
“Brother Liu, do you know which Spirit Vein it is?”
From what Ji Yuan knew, the Water Dragon Sect currently controlled a total of seven Spirit Veins, of which two were large Spirit Veins, each requiring a Golden Core Real Person to sit in town.
The remaining three were medium Spirit Veins, and the one at Liancheng Mountain was among them.
The last two were small Spirit Veins, which were said to be nearly exhausted, so the Water Dragon Sect was actively searching for new Spirit Veins.
Not seeking more, only to maintain the current situation.
Ji Yuan did not know which one he would be going to, so he had to ask Liu Yuan for information.
Liu Yuan’s reply came only after a while.
“I also just asked a friend. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the newly-acquired Spirit Vein at Liancheng Mountain. Only the senior brothers there have a need for rotation; the other Spirit Veins have not yet reached their rotation time.”
“Alright, thank you, Brother Liu.”
Liancheng Mountain… Ji Yuan put away the Messaging Talisman, his heart pondering.
This Spirit Vein was the newest among the many Spirit Veins of the Water Dragon Sect, so its output was second only to the two large Spirit Veins.
Of course, this was not the main point.
The main point was that this Spirit Vein… had the greatest profit.
Especially for stationed cultivators like Ji Yuan and the others.
The reason was naturally because it was “divided among three sects”: Water Dragon Sect, Joy Palace, and Medicine King Valley. Each took their share, with the final remaining 0.01 percent belonging to the stationed cultivators.
Although this 0.01 percent seemed small, and it still had to be split among the stationed cultivators of the three sects, in reality—
In reality, it was 0.01 percent of the annual output of a medium Spirit Vein!
From what Ji Yuan knew, the annual output of a medium Spirit Vein was about 5 million middle-grade Spirit Stones.
Converted like this, even 0.01 percent would still be 50,000 Spirit Stones.
Fifty thousand divided among the stationed cultivators of the three sects meant each could get about 16,000 middle-grade Spirit Stones. In short, after all the calculations, a stationed Foundation Establishment cultivator like Ji Yuan could receive… about four to five hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones a year.
For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, that was not a small amount.
By comparison, when he was stationed at Linshui City before, although it seemed easy, in three years he had only earned 300 middle-grade Spirit Stones.
Now, stationed at a Spirit Vein, one year equaled the previous three.
Although Ji Yuan was not short of Spirit Stones for cultivation, Spirit Stones were something… the more, the better—especially since in the near future, there would be a great war between the righteous and the demonic sects.
When that time came, earning this many Spirit Stones in peace would be difficult.
“Damn, no wonder so many Foundation Establishment cultivators want to become disciples of a Golden Core Real Person. In the Water Dragon Sect, only after becoming a disciple of a Golden Core Real Person can you truly be considered as raised by your own mother.”
“No, before leaving I must go thank Master again and send her more Wishful Wine.”
【Wine Cellar】produced three catties of Wishful Wine a month.
Each month Ji Yuan only sent two catties to Hua Yaoyue, storing one catty.
Over the years, Ji Yuan had accumulated quite a lot of Wishful Wine.
He planned to give more this time, but not too much.
Too much, and it might arouse suspicion.
Moreover, when chatting with Feng Zhi Tao, Ji Yuan had also heard that… the stationed cultivators at Liancheng Mountain’s Spirit Vein would also have part of their Spirit Stone share sent to Hua Yaoyue.
Therefore, for the Water Dragon Sect, other Spirit Veins were not a big deal, but Liancheng Mountain’s Spirit Vein was essentially a “gilding” place exclusive to Golden Core disciples.
A Spirit Vein with such profit was not enough even for the Golden Core disciples, let alone for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“It’s just a pity that I can’t always be stationed at Liancheng Mountain’s Spirit Vein; there’s still rotation. Otherwise, if I could guard it forever, that would be perfect.”
Ji Yuan could not help but fantasize in his heart.
As far as he knew, only Feng Zhi Tao had been stationed at that Spirit Vein before, and even Yun Qianzai had not been there yet.
This time, Ji Yuan actually had another thought—to try to see if he could develop the 【Spirit Vein】building.
If such a building could be obtained… Ji Yuan estimated its greatest function would be producing Spirit Stones.
If that were the case, then the “basic income” from other buildings would pale in comparison.
Only the 【Spirit Vein】building could truly be considered a basic income.
With this thought, Ji Yuan could not help but feel a trace of anticipation for this Spirit Vein trip.
As for Misty Island, the Great Toad definitely had to stay as the island-guarding spiritual beast, and Tu Yue could not be taken either—she needed to stay and collect the daily basic income.
After all, he had bought her for the purpose of helping him collect when he was away.
Ji Yuan used to be a little worried, but ever since he had the two great island-guarding formations, he no longer feared much.
He also had to tell her to feed the Spirit-Devouring Bees at the 【Bee Nest】with Spirit Stones every day.
Previously, Ji Yuan had done this himself, as only he could approach that dense forest—anyone else, like Tu Yue, would be attacked by the Spirit-Devouring Bees.
But since Ji Yuan was leaving now, there was no helping it.
She could only throw the Spirit Stones from a distance into the forest, or Ji Yuan could put a few hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones there in advance and let them devour at will.
The Ice Flood Dragon had to go with him; it could not be left behind.
If carried with him, Ji Yuan could only feed it Icy Soul Cold Dew. When the time came, he planned to build a 【Fish Pond】in his residence, and the basic income from that building would be collected by himself.
After all, the Ice Flood Dragon had to be fed daily, and Ji Yuan was still waiting for it to advance to a second-tier demon beast so he could dominate everywhere with it.
After that, items like pill furnaces also had to be carried along.
Liancheng Mountain was not like Linshui City. Once he went there, he definitely could not return at will, and even if he did, it would take more than ten or twenty days.
Too troublesome, so he naturally had to carry everything he needed.
Additionally, he had to deal with matters on Forgotten Worry Island.
After spending half a day arranging everything on Misty Island, Ji Yuan reluctantly bid farewell to the Great Toad.
There was no helping it—without a spiritual beast guarding Misty Island, Ji Yuan would not be at ease.
Even if the Ice Flood Dragon advanced to a second-tier demon beast, Ji Yuan would still choose to leave the Great Toad behind. Why?
Because it was obedient.
Only this time, Ji Yuan did not forget to take along the two Yin Ghosts that slept in the 【Grave Mound】all day.
This trip would be long, and since he would have dealings with Joy Palace, he might need to use his demonic cultivator identity. Even if not, the improved Yin Ghost Flag was still one of Ji Yuan’s trump cards.
Ever since he advanced to a second-tier Formation Master and gained deeper understanding of formations, he had modified the Yin Ghost Formation, making its range several times larger, and its yin energy much stronger.
Plus, with the two Foundation Establishment-stage Yin Ghosts… among Ji Yuan’s three formations—
The Yin Ghost Formation was still the strongest.
After confirming everything was ready with nothing overlooked, Ji Yuan piloted the Sky-Slicer Boat to circle Misty Island a few times before landing in front of the Great Toad.
“Brother Toad, I’ll leave the home to you.”
Ji Yuan patted its huge mouth.
Before leaving this time, Ji Yuan had also told it in advance not to eat all the Spiritual Pigs at once.
Because this time, the Spiritual Pigs included both males and females—in other words, they could breed. As long as they were not all eaten, the Great Toad would have an endless supply of Spiritual Pigs to eat.
This was Ji Yuan’s solution to worrying that while he was away, the Great Toad would have no way to improve its strength.
As for the 【Bee Nest】, it was the same. After thinking it over, he still scattered 400 middle-grade Spirit Stones in that dense forest, letting those Spirit-Devouring Bees feed on them themselves.
If Tu Yue went to feed them, it would still be too dangerous.
Ji Yuan could not bear to see this corpse servant, who had followed him the longest, suffer such injuries.
So at this moment, looking at the delicate-skinned Tu Yue, he still reminded her from the heart, “Of course, I’ll leave it to you too.”
Unfortunately, the Great Toad responded, but Tu Yue did not.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ji Yuan turned and urged the flying boat, his figure shooting north like a stream of light.
When he returned to Forgotten Worry Island and finished tidying up this second island, he called over Du Wanyi and Dong Qian, one on his left and one on his right.
The two of them had now both successfully established their Foundation, and since they lived close to each other, their relationship had clearly grown even better than before.
When Ji Yuan saw them come over, he told them that he was going out to carry out a mission and might be away from the sect for a while, advising them to be careful and such.
“Mm, I might be going on my first mission in just a few months. Junior Sister Du broke through later, so she can rest a while longer.”
Dong Qian said softly.
“It’s actually not bad.”
Having successfully established her Foundation, Du Wanyi had returned to her former demeanor, her beautiful peach blossom eyes narrowing slightly, looking at everyone with deep affection.
“I heard Senior Sister Youlan say that compared to going out to slay demons or other business ventures, helping with sect affairs is already the safest and fastest way to earn money. If it weren’t for the sect’s restrictions, she would want to always take sect tasks, since they don’t delay cultivation.”
“That’s true.”
When Dong Qian said this, she glanced at Ji Yuan without showing any emotion.
She naturally knew that Ji Yuan, like herself, had other ways of making money—and quite a lot of it. Not to mention anything else, the Foundation Establishment Pills she had purchased from Ji Yuan alone were worth a lot of Spirit Stones.
So, what Du Wanyi said was true, but only for ordinary cultivators.
For Ji Yuan and herself, it was not the case.
“While I’m away from the sect, I’ll trouble the two senior sisters to pay more attention to news in the sect, especially matters related to demonic cultivators causing trouble. As for other things… there’s nothing else.”
Ji Yuan could not think of anything else he needed their help with.
Before long, after some idle chatter, the two of them left.
Just as Ji Yuan was about to set off for Forgotten Worry Island, he received a message from Dong Qian, telling him to wait a moment.
Before long, the just-departed Dong Qian returned.
“Senior Sister, what is it?”
Ji Yuan asked with a smile.
“It’s like this—I’m planning to open a shop over on Everything Island. What do you think, Junior Brother?” Dong Qian looked directly at Ji Yuan and asked.
“That’s great. What will Senior Sister sell?”
“Mainly some pills. As for other things… anything can be sold. If you have anything you need to sell in the future, you can bring it to my shop. Don’t worry, it’s very safe.”
Dong Qian knew exactly what Ji Yuan was concerned about.
With just a little thought, Ji Yuan understood what she meant.
Safety was indeed something Ji Yuan needed to consider. In the past, whenever he sold things, he deliberately split them among many shops, which was troublesome, though safe.
But now that Dong Qian was willing to open a shop, he could indeed entrust her to sell his goods.
Was Dong Qian trustworthy?
Without a doubt. Judging from their previous dealings with Foundation Establishment Pills, the two of them could be considered “partners in crime.”
Ji Yuan knew Dong Qian’s secrets, and Dong Qian also knew some of his.
So, leaving goods with Dong Qian would not make him worry she would overthink it.
Of course, the main thing was that Dong Qian was very tactful.
“Alright, then I’ll trouble Senior Sister in the future.”
With this thought, Ji Yuan had already made up his mind.
“Alright, be careful while you’re away, Junior Brother.”
After saying this, Dong Qian gave Ji Yuan a slight bow, turned to leave, and left only a faint fragrance behind.
Ji Yuan then closed the door and left Forgotten Worry Island, heading straight to Forgotten Worry Island.
When he saw Hua Yaoyue and explained the situation, his master only casually said, “Be careful,” and nothing more.
It was only when Ji Yuan offered more wine than usual that Hua Yaoyue added another sentence.
“If you encounter someone you can’t defeat, use that jade cup I gave you. I gave it to you so you would use it—don’t be reluctant.
Once you use it, I will sense it immediately.”
To Ji Yuan, what Hua Yaoyue said now was not just words—it was his courage.
With these words in his heart, Ji Yuan felt even his steps were more confident.
Leaving Forgotten Worry Island, Ji Yuan went straight to Water Dragon Island. Timing it along the way, when he arrived, it was exactly the day he had agreed upon with Real Person Xuan Shui.
Before he could descend from the sky, Liu Yuan, riding a willow leaf, also arrived.
Compared to their previous meeting, his appearance had changed slightly.
Standing on a willow leaf flying boat, with a red wine gourd at his waist and a three-foot green sword on his back, his large sleeves fluttering as he flew—he perfectly fit Ji Yuan’s image of a cultivator, especially a sword cultivator.
In comparison, Ji Yuan seemed rather plain.
Riding a gray-brown flying boat, wearing a modest gray robe, even while flying he kept his head slightly lowered, with none of Liu Yuan’s spirited presence.
“Brother Ji, you came quite early.”
“Brother Liu, you’re not late either.”
The two exchanged smiles and a laugh before descending together to the main hall of Water Dragon Island.
Before they could even pay respects, Ji Yuan saw that there were already two others inside the hall.
A young man in golden robes, and an old man in pure black robes—Ji Yuan did not know either of them.
However, Liu Yuan had already recognized them by their aura and transmitted his voice to Ji Yuan to introduce them: “The one in the golden dragon robe is Elder Three’s disciple, Xiao Chengyi. The other is Senior Brother Kuzang, Senior Uncle Qingyu’s first disciple.”
“Oh? So that’s Xiao Chengyi?”
Ji Yuan looked a few more times at the young man’s back.
At that, the two of them turned around.
When Xiao Chengyi saw Liu Yuan, he was slightly surprised, but still smiled and nodded. “So it’s Junior Brother Liu.”
“Greetings, Senior Brother Kuzang, Senior Brother Xiao.”
Liu Yuan saluted.
Ji Yuan did the same. Enemy or not, he still had to keep up appearances—besides, Xiao Chengyi did not yet know about his embezzlement of Spirit Stones, which had offended Ji Yuan.
“This junior brother is…?”
Ji Yuan did not know Xiao Chengyi, and naturally Xiao Chengyi did not know Ji Yuan either.
“He is your Martial Aunt Wangyou’s newly accepted disciple, Ji Yuan.”
From behind, Real Person Xuan Shui introduced.
“Oh, so this is Junior Brother Ji in person.” Xiao Chengyi smiled and cupped his hands. “Junior Brother Ji, if you have time in the future, you should often visit my Zhaoyang Island.”
“Greetings, Junior Brother Ji.”
Kuzang’s wrinkled face squeezed out a smile as he saluted Ji Yuan.
“Since I’m going out now, when I return… certainly.”
Ji Yuan replied with a smile.
“Easily said.”
“Alright, you two have reported back, now return and cultivate well.” Real Person Xuan Shui issued the dismissal.
“Yes.”
Kuzang and Xiao Chengyi left one after the other.
It was only when they reached the door that Xiao Chengyi seemed to remember something. He turned his head, smiled at Ji Yuan, and said, “Junior Brother Ji, right now the one in charge at Liancheng Mountain is Senior Sister Rou Yi… If you run into trouble, you can send me a message. This is my Messaging Talisman.”
With that, a golden Messaging Talisman flew over and landed in Ji Yuan’s hand.
Before he could respond, Xiao Chengyi had already summoned a flying boat and departed.
Looking at the Messaging Talisman in his hand, Ji Yuan could easily guess Xiao Chengyi’s meaning… Senior Sister Rou Yi was Liu Yuan’s direct senior sister; like him, she was a disciple of the Grand Elder.
So Xiao Chengyi’s intention was… whether it worked or not, it was worth sowing a bit of discord.
‘It’s just a pity—you don’t know you’ve already offended Ji Yuan.’
Liu Yuan could not help but sigh inwardly.
Of course, outwardly, he only smiled.
He merely felt a bit more cautious in his heart—if he did business in the future, it had to be proper, or else he would be making enemies for nothing.
As for Real Person Xuan Shui… the open and hidden struggles between the Grand Elder and the Third Elder were happening right in front of him, but he acted as if he hadn’t seen anything. Only when Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan came over did he speak:
“I trust you both already know—the Spirit Vein you’re to guard is the one at Liancheng Mountain.”
As he spoke, he tossed out two tokens.
“This time, first, you must protect the Spirit Vein completely; second, you must not tarnish the Water Dragon Sect’s reputation, especially in front of Medicine King Valley.”
“Yes.”
Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan received the tokens and spoke respectfully in unison.
“That’s all. Once you get there, follow your Senior Sister Rou’s arrangements.”
Having just finished his “stern words,” Real Person Xuan Shui’s voice softened a great deal. “Also, since this is Ji Yuan’s first time carrying out a mission involving other sects, Liu Yuan, you should take good care of your Junior Brother Ji.”
“Yes.”
Liu Yuan responded.
“Good. Xiao Chengyi and the others have already returned early, and the Spirit Vein’s defenses are empty right now. If you have nothing else, set off at once.”