Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Wood Demon
The starlight softly spilled over the valley, accompanied by a gentle evening breeze, making the entire valley appear peaceful and serene.
Unlike the chirping of insects at Lingyun Peak, this is not possible here, as this is the Spirit Medicine Garden.
If there were insect noises, the Ye Family members would be worried.
At the entrance of the valley, Ye Jingcheng held several magical artifacts in hand, feeling slightly emotional.
He never thought that after his breakthrough in Foundation Establishment, he would have over a dozen Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts by now.
Of course, this also had something to do with the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators he had slain after his breakthrough.
Although he didn’t kill many on his own, he was always prioritized when it came to distributing treasures.
However, he didn’t use many of these numerous magical artifacts.
Ye Jingcheng decided to take out all his magical artifacts, knowing that quality was more important than quantity.
Therefore, he planned to categorize the ones he could use, have one or two reserved, and sell the rest to the family.
As it happened, with three Tier Two Spirit Beasts to maintain and the impending breakthrough of the Three-Colored Cloud Deer, these four were resource-intensive gold-consuming beasts.
Moreover, to catch up with the Three-Colored Cloud Deer’s progress, he needed to close the gap in the Four Phases.
He needed to provide extra support for the upkeep of the Three-Colored Cloud Deer.
Thus, for Ye Jingcheng, even as a Pill Master, the pressure was significant.
Fortunately, his own cultivation benefited from the Beast Communication Pattern, allowing him to receive feedback from the four Spirit Beasts, and his cultivation speed was noticeably faster than Ye Jingyu’s.
More than a dozen magical artifacts spread out before Ye Jingcheng, dazzling even to the eyes of someone like him who couldn’t imagine such wealth in the past.
Several of them were slightly damaged, and he needed the family’s Artifact Refiner to refine them again.
Among the magical artifacts, the ones focusing on attacking divine sense and sound wave, the Evil Ghost Gong and Shocking God Drum, had to be kept and were placed in his personal storage bag.
In addition, the Black Wood Coffin, Celestial Wind Bag, and Cyan Cloud Ring were auxiliary artifacts that had to be ready for immediate use.
The Golden-faced Silver Ring Saber and Red Crab Claw only required one to be kept, and Ye Jingcheng chose to keep the Red Crab Claw.
The Golden-faced Silver Ring Saber was better for close combat, not suitable for him.
Even if he became a Body Cultivator in the future, he didn’t intend to engage in close combat.
For a Beast Master, staying behind was the righteous path.
Ye Jingcheng continued to look at the defense-type magical artifacts. The Zhenyuan Cauldron had broken twice, and Ye Jingcheng didn’t want to repair it again, especially now that he had obtained a new Black Shield.
Even though the Black Shield’s spiritual light had dimmed, a fresh refining would restore much of its former power.
Lastly, for back-up magical artifacts, Ye Jingcheng carefully stored the Cyan Corpse Needle, Profound Silver Needle, and Talisman Treasure Corpse Spear.
As for the Infinite Ruler, Blood Saber, and Zhenyuan Cauldron left at the end, Ye Jingcheng placed them in the Storage Jade Bracelet, intending to sell them to the family upon returning to Lingyun Peak.
Having organized his magical artifacts, Ye Jingcheng turned his attention to the jade talismans on the wooden shelf.
However, after taking a look, Ye Jingcheng was left with a head full of black lines.
The jade talismans contained nothing but Bedroom Skills, documenting tales of tumultuous bed antics, truly living up to the evil cultivator label!
Ye Jingcheng forced himself to finish looking through all the jade talismans, though he found no trace of the Illusionary Eye Technique.
Although disappointed, there was nothing he could do but sigh.
As for the jade talismans, he initially thought to destroy them right then and there, but considering the Demon Secret Techniques and Furnace and Tripod Skill contained within, he decided to store them in the Storage Jade Bracelet to hand over to the family later for a little contribution point.
Ye Jingcheng also examined the spirit medicine and ores in the Jade Box, but found few that were useful to him.
There were over two thousand Spirit Stones remaining.
After organizing his storage bag, Ye Jingcheng let out a long breath.
He estimated that his magical artifacts, combined with the spiritual medicine materials, could be exchanged for twenty to thirty thousand contribution points.
Counting the contribution points he originally had, it could amount to forty to fifty thousand, enough for a long time.
Thus, he could then focus on cultivating in peace.
As the night passed, the entire valley quieted down, and all the spirit plants had been planted, the four Spirit Medicine Gardens glowed with spiritual light, starkly different from the scene Ye Jingcheng saw yesterday.
However, going forward, the Ye Family would need to continue investing Spirit Stones.
And in the next three days, the entire Cloud Valley remained peaceful.
No expected Tribulation Cultivators showed up, which Ye Jingcheng speculated was because news of the Ye Family’s promotion to the Purple Mansion Clan at Taihang Market had spread.
The Li Family’s domain was annexed by the Ye Family, naturally discouraging any cultivators from seeking trouble.
Besides, for the Xu Family and Mo Family, having Supreme Taihao present at Jade Dragon Valley made them need to keep a low profile.
Ye Jingcheng took delight in this, continuing his cultivation of the Celestial Soul Technique, occasionally opening the cauldron to refine pills, living a peaceful and fulfilling life.
On the fifth day, another Spiritual Ship flew over from the family.
This time, leading on top was Ye Xinghan, accompanied by Ye Jingyu, generally representing the family’s Spirit Plant Master.
"Sixteenth Uncle, Jingyu!" Both Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu stepped out.
The family’s arrangement of sending cultivators also signified that the external situation had probably stabilized.
"Jingcheng, Jingyu, Brother Qi, I am tasked with transplanting those thousand-year spirit medicines, as required by the Patriarch!" Ye Xinghan, though sparing with words, stated his purpose straightforwardly.
Ye Jingcheng was not surprised; Supreme Taihao had suggested so clearly the other day, and if the Ye Family still didn’t catch on, stalling on tributes and submissions would have been deemed ignorant.
"Sixteenth Uncle, no problem, the spirit medicine is inside!" Ye Jingyu replied.
Following that, they all moved to the Spirit Ascension Garden.
During the transplantation, Ye Jingcheng also learned from these Ye Family members.
The news of the Ye Family’s promotion to the Purple Mansion Clan had spread, and the clan had occupied Buqing Mountain, with Ye Haiyi overseeing it.
Thus, on the surface, the Ye Family now had three Tier Two Spiritual Veins.
However, word has it that a few core disciples managed to escape from the Li Family, but their cultivation was only at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Cultivation.
Ye Jingcheng sighed, family clans like the Li Family must have more than one or two measures prepared, some escaping was expected.
Moreover, some Li Family cultivators, residing in Taihang Market, were untouchable by the Ye Family, adopting the guise of Loose Cultivators. As long as they remained in the market, the Ye Family had no means against them.
Even if they did leave, tracking them was uncertain for the Ye Family.
In addition, the Li Family’s shops had already been sold to the Xu Family, preempting any Ye Family claims.
The Ban Li Order had become an ineffective treasure due to the Li Family’s news.
The Ye Family’s attempt to establish a Pill Shop and seize the market still faced considerable challenges.
Ye Jingcheng could only shake his head at this unfortunate news.
The matter was indeed hasty; though the Ye Family controlled Buqing Mountain and Cloud Valley, they didn’t reap substantial benefits from the market and other small clan mountains.
Considering the tribute obligations, the Ye Family might bear temporary losses.
Of course, over a decade, the value of this Spirit Mountain and Spirit Grain is uncertain.
Ye Xinghan adeptly transplanted the thousand-year spirit medicines, quickly completing two, followed by a nine hundred-year Earth Cloud Ganoderma.
This time, Ye Jingyu had to depart as well to escort the returns.
Ye Jingcheng, however, remained to guard Cloud Valley.
"Jingcheng, the previous Blood Contract failed, our family found a Wood Demon on Buqing Mountain. If you encounter a Wood Demon in the future, beware of them pretending to have formed a Blood Contract and seizing the opportunity to escape!" Before leaving, Ye Xinghan sent a transmission to Ye Jingcheng.
His words stunned Ye Jingcheng; a few years ago, Ye Xinghan had confidently declared his Blood Contract, particularly targeting the Spirit Plant Wood Demon, and even gave him a copy.
It now seemed to have failed.
But Ye Jingcheng’s heart burned with excitement.
Other cultivators might fail, but perhaps he wouldn’t; he had the Treasure Book.
The Spirit Plant Wood Demon, unlike resource-consuming Spirit Beasts, fell into the economic category, potentially bringing Spirit Stones or Spirit Fruits to cultivators.
Previously, he’d mentioned that this place suited his cultivation, not expecting the family to station him here.
If he had known, he might not have said so!