With the stone tortoise to rely on and his own decent comprehension, Ji An's progress in water, earth, and wood-element spells was bound to be swift.
But combat was not merely about mastering spells; victory required temperament, reaction, and decisiveness, as well as an understanding of one's enemies.
Without real combat experience, it was all just talk on paper.
He recalled that Wei Songnian once mentioned how Yuanhe Mountain and Falling Maple Valley had also each carved out bases deep within the mountain ranges, seizing spirit veins there.
To Ji An, those outposts served their sects the same way his own sect served the great clans of the Central Continent as buffers in times of war.
He reasoned that if the sect continued its frequent campaigns of slaying beast clans to establish outposts, then it would likely confirm his suspicion: another full-scale war between humans and monsters was looming, not just his idle speculation.
If the sect was preparing in advance, he should do the same.
"Junior Brother's farming spells are so refined," Chu He said doubtfully. "Wouldn't it be safer for you to just stay in the sect and cultivate?"
He himself had rejected the life of a spirit farmer; he knew he could never rely on farming alone to support his cultivation.
With his clan's support dwindling, obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill would ultimately fall on his own shoulders.
But Ji An could sustain his path through farming. By cultivating, he could earn enough contribution points and spirit stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Hunting beasts in the mountains might seem thrilling, but in reality, it was staking one's life to earn stones.
Yes, sometimes the profits were great, but so were the expenses. Worn-down artifacts, the constant consumption of talismans, all drained wealth.
And if one were injured… the hardship was far worse.
"Chu Junior Brother speaks reason," Zhao Mengyao chimed in. "Ji Junior Brother, you still haven't purchased the sect's compiled jade slips for offensive spells, have you?
Training attack spells also takes time, not to mention acquiring the necessary artifacts.
Better to focus on raising your cultivation first. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you can slowly hone your offensive spells. By then, you'll also have more means to deal with monsters."
Ji An smiled faintly and explained:
"I only wish to temper my dueling skills, not rush headlong into danger. Most of my time will still be spent within the sect.
Besides, Brother Chu's squad may not always need extra hands, and I may not always be free. I only wanted to give notice in advance.
And truly, I won't step outside until I've broken through to late-stage Qi Refinement, acquired a proper set of artifacts, and trained at least one offensive spell to mastery."
Inwardly, he added another silent vow: and also one defensive spell, and one escape spell, both honed to mastery as well.
"Junior Brother speaks truly. We cultivators must also wield the power of battle. Without the ability to defend our path, how can we safeguard it?"
Zhang Yuanshan nodded in agreement.
"My uncle once told me that once I reach Foundation Establishment, I must prioritize my combat ability.
The primary ingredients for Foundation Establishment–level cultivation pills often require a hundred years or more of maturity. The sect's medicine gardens produce them continuously, but with so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, there is never enough to go around.
We cannot remain cloistered in the sect forever. We must go out to seek fortune and seize opportunities if we are to secure the resources needed for rapid advancement."
The higher the grade of the pill, the heavier the pill toxins. But as one's cultivation rose, so too did one's ability to neutralize those toxins more quickly.
Foundation Establishment cultivators consumed pills as frequently as Qi Refinement disciples, but their ingredients were far rarer. Refining such pills consumed vast resources, and even then, only a few pills would succeed.
Within the sect, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators who enjoyed a full supply of pills could be counted on one hand.
"And it's not just Foundation Establishment pills," he added. "Even for late-stage Qi Refinement, pills like Shen Yuan Pill and Jade Ganoderma Pill must be bought at inflated prices if you want enough of them."
Zhao Mengyao shook her head lightly. It was said that among cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, trades were often carried out through bartering.
If one wanted to buy with spirit stones, the price would come with a steep premium.
Take pills, for example, while the sect's medicine gardens could not satisfy everyone's needs, they still supplied batches of pills to sect disciples at regular intervals.
But for rogue cultivators and scions of small clans, obtaining a single pill was extremely difficult. The higher the cultivation stage, the worse this problem became.
Ji An raised his brows slightly. This was news to him.
The main ingredient of the Shen Yuan Pill was the Firecloud Ginseng, which required at least twenty years of growth. For the Jade Ganoderma Pill, the Wood Spirit Mushroom needed to be at least thirty years old.
"The cultivation world has flourished for countless years, and the number of cultivators at every level keeps increasing.
There's no helping it; this situation has already persisted for many years.
I've even heard that one of the reasons our sect moved its mountain gate from Central Continent to West Continent was because the old site's spiritual veins could no longer satisfy the ancestors' cultivation needs."
Zhang Yuanshan paused, then turned his head.
"Chu Junior Brother, once you're out hunting monsters, you'll inevitably run into rogue cultivator squads. You must be cautious.
To loose cultivators, the wealth of a sect disciple is worth more than that of any beast."
The group continued chatting, exchanging cultivation insights, and each gained something.
By the time the setting sun slanted through the window lattice, the table was a mess of cups and plates. They toasted each other with wishes of 'everlasting on the immortal path' and parted ways.
A month later.
The night sky was sparse with stars, the valley alive with the drone of cicadas.
A shaft of gentle moonlight streamed through an open window, falling onto the meditating figure inside the bamboo loft.
Ji An felt a surge of heat rise from the base of his spine, coursing up along his back until it reached the nape of his neck.
Suddenly, his vision flared with brightness. A lively, crystalline stream of mana welled up from his dantian, flowing swiftly along his immortal meridians.
His meridians seemed to have grown tougher, and several new minor branches unfurled.
Opening his eyes, he found his senses sharper than before; the chirping of insects, once drowned beneath the cries of cicadas outside, now came through clearly.
"Late-stage Qi Refinement… achieved."
Raising his head, the moonlight washed across his face, lending him a crystalline glow. His deep eyes gleamed like a field of stars.
Yet inwardly, he sighed that it was a pity the triennial apprenticeship ceremony had passed just half a month earlier.
He had missed his chance. Now, he would have to wait another three years.
Standing from his meditation cushion, Ji An linked his mind with the stone tortoise.
[Host: Ji An]
[Dao Rhyme: 0]
[Spiritual Qi: Kan 378.8, Kun 164.9, Xun 132.2]
[Spells: Minor Rain Technique (Perfected 34%)
Thick Earth Formula (Perfected 25%)
Withering-Bloom Formula (Great Accomplishment 65%)
Flamefire Incantation (Great Accomplishment 16%)
Sharp Gold Art (Great Accomplishment 75%)]
Three years of effort had borne rich fruit.
The Thick Earth Formula had reached perfection a year earlier, and with two perfected spells aiding him, his harvests now reached 350 jin of Yellow Sprout Rice per mu.
The vegetables in his courtyard brimmed with spiritual energy, nearly matching those grown in a first-rank spiritual field.
Thanks to training with the Sharp Gold Art, his divine sense had grown by another half compared to before.
Since his soul fusion, his divine sense was already stronger than most; this additional half increment was especially rare.
Now, his unleashed Six Meridian Sword Qi could pierce straight through pinewood as thick as a water barrel.
He had tested it himself, and such force was enough to penetrate the defense provided by an ordinary-grade Golden Armor Talisman.
Smiling, Ji An stepped out of the bamboo loft to perform his daily routine.
Forming seals, he spread earthen-yellow light across the courtyard.
As the radiance faded, he felt a dense surge of spiritual energy rising from the ground below.