Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique-Chapter 201 - 198: Black Dragon Pool

The two quickly had breakfast and entered the underground cave, with Ji An almost chasing after Senior Sister’s footsteps to keep up.

Shadows cast on the rock wall moved rapidly, and soon they reached the bottom of the cave.

A spirit tree emitting a crystalline glow appeared before their eyes, Liu Suyun hastened her pace to walk forward, reaching out to touch the tree.

Some stone peel scattered under the tree, and some nearly fallen stone peel on the bare branches.

The part of the spirit tree "shedding skin" revealed a faint jade hue.

Ji An said softly:

"It will take half a year to a year for the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree’s original outer skin to fully shed and reveal the jade color, marking its true transformation into a Tier Two Spirit Plant."

"When will the transformed spirit tree be able to blossom and bear fruit?"

Liu Suyun’s tone was somewhat urgent, as this was her main concern.

"That I am unsure of, it might blossom and bear fruit after the transformation, or it may take a few more years.

Senior Sister, this is my first time cultivating a Tier Two Earth Spirit Fruit Tree."

Ji An smiled, things not experienced firsthand might lack detail.

"Ah, I am too impatient.

In my eyes, Junior Brother’s spirit wood cultivation level is unmatched in the sect, and I subconsciously overlooked your age and experience."

Liu Suyun regained her composure, asking:

"How many Earth Spirit Fruit Trees did Junior Brother plant, and how are they?"

"Six were planted, four Top-grade, two Top-Grade."

Ji An believes these two Top-grade spirit trees have the potential to be cultivated to Tier Two, the earliest raised to Top-Grade level has the greatest chance.

"When the spirit tree blossoms and bears fruit, remember to sell me some of the fruits."

"Certainly."

As they spoke, the two left the cave.

Back at the Cold Pool, Ji An asked:

"Senior Sister, I want to purchase a Beast for combat, one that can confront enemies directly, do you have any recommendations?"

Due to their size, Spirit-Seeking Rats can only ambush, not assault, and the grey-feathered sand geese’s attack power is pathetic, their role is primarily as riding beasts, he needs to raise several more war beasts.

The Spirit Stones he possesses are accumulating, and he needs to find a way to spend them, transforming them into strength and foundation.

"There are many avenues for Beast Taming; does Junior Brother intend for ground combat or aerial combat, focusing on defense or offense?"

"Focusing on offense, mainly for ground combat."

With the Demon Calamity erupting mostly land beasts, ground combat is the best choice.

Ji An feels his defense is adequate and wants to strengthen his offense.

After a pause, he continued:

"If possible, I hope the Beast has aerial combat capabilities."

Kids make choices; he wants it all; the ideal configuration is a water-land-air amphibious combat demon beast.

"Junior Brother’s idea is a bit greedy, let me think carefully."

After contemplating for a moment, Liu Suyun said:

"The ones that meet the requirements are those beast-type demon beasts with wings, like the Cloud-Stepping Leopard, Winged Tiger, but these types of beasts are rare, the Beast Taming Hall doesn’t sell cubs.

I know a Junior Brother who has a Cloud-Stepping Leopard, but to get a cub, one must wait for an opportunity."

The Junior Brother she mentioned is named Li Hu, who luckily tamed a female leopard and is in the business of selling cubs.

Every few years, Li Hu releases the beast back to the area where Cloud-Stepping Leopards appear to lure male leopards for mating.

Many cultivators in the sect preorder cubs from him and don’t know how long it will take to have the purchasing opportunity.

Liu Suyun briefly described Li Hu’s situation, saying:

"I can introduce Junior Brother Li to you, after paying a deposit, you can wait.

However, the Cloud-Stepping Leopard gives birth to only two to three cubs each time, it’s said there are twenty to thirty people waiting in line."

Ji An grimaces, by the time he buys a Cloud-Stepping Leopard, the Demon Calamity would have erupted, and getting a cub then would be useless.

He shakes his head, laughing at his greed, then says:

"Let’s make another choice, I want a large-sized demon beast, preferably a tiger or bear type."

"Junior Brother would do best to visit Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City; it is the easiest place to find demon beast cubs.

It’s best to raise combat-type demon beasts from a young age; relying solely on a Beast Taming Token is not necessarily safe since you won’t always clutch the Beast Taming Token in hand."

Liu Suyun suggested, noting that many sinister, beast attacks have occurred.

Ji An nodded slightly, saying, "After finishing my recent tasks, I will visit Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City."

After brewing Mulberry Wine, his busywork will continue for another half year with the Pine Nut season, at which time a large-scale production of Spiritual Charcoal will also be required.

...

The furnace fire in the winery was extinguished, and the chimney fell silent.

Next to the stone table, Ji An and Du Huaiyuan raised glasses and feasted.

The aroma of wine and Spiritual Food filled the air, making the stomach irresistibly eager.

Du Huaiyuan burped from the wine and quickly had another drink to stifle it, saying,

"Junior Brother, this year we brewed seventy pounds of Tier Two Spirit Wine, six thousand pounds of Top-Grade Spirit Wine, and fifty thousand pounds of Top-grade Spirit Wine."

The production of Tier Two Spirit Wine exceeded expectations by ten pounds, and he could have an extra pound personally — what luck!

The production of Mulberries greatly underperformed compared to Pine Nuts, resulting in substantially fewer Spirit Wine brews.

Fortunately, you don’t need to add Spirit Spring Water when brewing Mulberry Wine, the price is much higher than Pine Nut Wine, and the taste contains a fruity fragrance, which many female cultivators also like to drink.

"Fortunately, the Spirit Wine is being sold normally now, otherwise we would need to expand the warehouse for storage."

Ji An smiled, his share of Tier Two Spirit Wine would not be sold, kept for drinking or exchanging for spiritual objects.

He would also reserve two thousand catties of Top-Grade Spirit Wine for entertaining guests, and sell the rest entirely.

"Spirit Wine is not afraid of being overstocked, the longer the storage time, the more it can be sold at a premium."

Ji An shook his head subtly, the premium for Spirit Wine stored for a long time wasn’t very high.

Moreover, business is about turnover, Red Flame Peak is a "production enterprise", and fears excessive inventory.

After the Demon Calamity breaks out, the prices of pills and magical artifacts will rise, but the price of Spirit Wine is very likely to fall, so he must try to keep minimal inventory.

...

Red Flame Peak returned to tranquility, Ji An sent Huang Xuan to investigate the timing of the sect’s Spirit Ship traveling to and from Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City, the next departure was in half a month.

He stayed quietly, extracting essence by day, making talismans, practicing magic techniques, and at night casting magic on the Spirit Field, watching the Ghost Moon Cyan Jade Tree and Tier Two Purple Fire Gourd grow day by day, he was content.

As the days and months flowed, the years seemed peaceful.

Ten days passed, Ji An was drawing Talisman Soldiers in the stone house.

Recently, the beast hides he could get from the sect became fewer, making the daily talisman-making tasks easier.

He was too lazy to add more tasks for himself, spending more time every day practicing magic techniques and studying cultivation insights.

Liang Hill rushed in, and just as he was about to speak, seeing Ji An occupied, he immediately closed his mouth, stood next to him waiting, wiping sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his Daoist robe, panting heavily.

Ji An noticed his arrival, finished making the Talisman Soldier in his hand, and asked:

"Junior Brother, what happened for you to come in such a rush?"

"Something happened in the fish pond, please help, it’s very urgent."

"What’s the matter, explain it clearly so I can prepare."

...

Liang Hill lowered the speed of the Flying Shuttle, saying:

"Senior Brother, ahead is the Black Dragon Pool."

The Black Dragon Pool covers thirty acres, it’s his Dao Field.

It’s a Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Vein, relatively less competitive, which allowed him to seize this waterbody.

Due to the low terrain, the pool water is very deep, the deepest part is about twenty zhang, it looks like a giant bucket from a bird’s-eye view.

Because the water is too deep, the situation at the bottom can’t be seen clearly.

The Flying Shuttle landed by the pool, Liang Hill gritted his teeth and said:

"Senior Brother, the demon beast is in the stone cave near the bottom edge of the deep pool, where the dense water grasses obstruct the view, I overlooked it when I first came to check the pool."

Fear flashed in his heart, luckily the entrance wasn’t found then, otherwise rushing to explore might have led him to be torn apart by the demon beast.

He found that the number of cultivated Spirit Fish didn’t match the number of captured big fish, and since he didn’t raise carnivorous Spirit Fish, he grew suspicious and searched the pool water deeply.

After days of careful searching, he finally found clues, discovering the cave hidden by water grasses.

The demon beast attacked him, luckily he purchased a Defensive Magical Artifact, otherwise he could have met his end here.

Ji An nodded slightly, he learned the troublemaking was a turtle-type demon beast, only at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment level, so he agreed to help.

Such matters reported to the sect’s Law Enforcement Hall, the sect would handle them, but after battling the demon beast, Liang Hill wouldn’t get any benefits.

So he came to Ji An, planning to join forces to slay the demon beast and share some materials to compensate for the losses.

"Junior Brother Liang, can we lure the demon beast ashore?"

If it were a land demon beast, things would be easier, but battling in water is a bit challenging.

His specialty, Bursting Fireball Skill, is hard to execute underwater, as water’s resistance is much greater than air, making accuracy a problem.

What he could rely on instead was the Entanglement Technique, because of the abundant water grasses in the pool.

"I’m afraid not, the turtle-type demon beast can stay inactive for days after a full meal, and we don’t have bait to lure the demon."

"Senior Brother, I have a Water-Resistant Bead that can create an attack space."

"That’s good, let’s prepare and then enter the water."

Ji An nodded slightly, he couldn’t maintain Water Control Technique while casting other magic techniques.

This matter reminded him that having a Water-Resistant Bead or Fireproof Bead, keeping such artifacts on hand is wise.

He activated the Pan Mountain Technique, took out the apricot yellow Banner, injected magical power into it, a yellow Protective Spirit Light enveloping his body, and the Spiritual Artifact began to rotate around him.

Ji An took out the Purple Fire Gourd, planning to roast the whole turtle directly when the time comes.

The most valuable part of the turtle-type demon beast is its shell; he’s worried the demon beast might not withstand the power of the Bursting Fireball, breaking the shell and reducing its value.

Liang Hill slapped a Golden Armor Talisman onto himself, then took out the Profound Water Shield and injected magical power, the water-blue brilliance covered his whole body.

He also activated the Water-Resistant Bead, and Ji An felt an invisible membrane sweep past him.

The two entered the Black Dragon Pool side by side, the pool water parted automatically, forming several large bubbles around their bodies as they fully submerged.

"Senior Brother, the Water-Resistant Bead can activate an area spanning two zhang at most."

Ji An nodded slightly, saying:

"The space’s somewhat narrow, stay focused."

Liang Hill chuckled, "This time we’re prepared, the demon beast won’t have its way."

Turtle-type demon beasts move relatively slowly, they excel in defense, playing defensively and counterattacking.

"Better be cautious."

Ji An advised, as they both dived deeper.