Chapter 4: Getting Spirit Stones
Halfway up Lingyun Peak stood a grand, imposing hall. Heavily guarded, only a winding path of moss-dappled bluestone steps led inward.
Beside the stone steps lay patches of grass dotted with strangely colored spirit flowers.
But Ye Jingcheng didn't dare to look too much. This was the Ye Family's Treasure Pavilion, the place for exchanging treasures
And those grassy patches? They were where the formation arrays lay hidden. Only this bluestone path wasn’t affected by them and could be crossed.
He had saved quite a few Spirit Nourishing Pills, but the Crimson Flame Fox consumed them very quickly. Add in the Jade Ring Mouse, and in less than ten days, all his pills were gone.
He had to come to the Treasure Pavilion to exchange for more spirit herbs and return to the Pill Pavilion to refine more Spirit Nourishing Pills. Additionally, he planned to exchange for some spirit beast meat.
Beyond that, if possible, he wanted to start gathering the spirit herbs listed in the ancient book’s recipe.
Soon, he passed through the stone steps and arrived at the main hall. There were many cultivators inside, all here to trade for treasures.
Among them was Ye Jingcheng’s 2nd Brother Ye Jingyong. He had also exchanged for a Flying Cloud Leopard, whose appetite was even greater than that of his Crimson Flame Fox's.
And so, as Ye Jingcheng walked into the Treasure Pavilion, he could clearly see the troubled look on Ye Jingyong’s face. This was a stark contrast to the day he’d proudly walked away with the Flying Cloud Leopard, chest out and beaming with joy.
“2nd Brother!” Ye Jingcheng greeted.
Ye Jingyong glanced over, and when he saw it was Ye Jingcheng, he gave a helpless smile.
“Jingcheng, you’re here for spirit food too? Now I finally understand why our Ye Family is so poor!” Ye Jingyong said with a troubled expression.
“This is my third trip already. My pills are gone, and my contribution points too!”
“You have two spirit beasts, you must have come quite a few times as well!”
“Yeah,” Ye Jingcheng nodded. Though this was actually his first visit, seeing the eager look in Ye Jingyong’s eyes, he decided to just go along with it.
“Oh, right—Jingcheng, since you’re here, 2nd Brother will take you to get some spirit stones later! I guarantee you’ll have more than enough to squander for a while!” Ye Jingyong suddenly remembered something, rubbing his thumb and index and middle fingers together with a grin on his face.
But Ye Jingcheng was skeptical.
The Jing generation disciples grew up on Lingyun Peak, so he naturally knew Ye Jingyong's personality.
His method of 'getting spirit stones' was not something to compliment.
“Don’t worry, I’m not the one leading it—4th Brother is. He gave me the info. Now you believe me, right?”
“4th Brother’s leading it?” That got Ye Jingcheng a little interested. 4th Brother, Ye Jingyu, and 2nd Brother, Ye Jingyong, couldn’t be more different—one was the strategist of the Ye Family’s Jing generation, while the other was a classic brute.
“Of course! But 4th Brother said we’ve got to wait another month,” Ye Jingyong said.
Seeing that Ye Jingcheng was considering it, he leaned in and whispered into his ear.
“It’s that demon valley the family cleared out. There’s a spirit vein there, and it’ll definitely attract more demon beasts!”
With that, Ye Jingyong said goodbye and left.
Ye Jingcheng gave it some thought and eventually nodded. His 4th Brother was indeed worthy of being called a strategist. That demon valley still reeked of blood, so the stronger demon beasts wouldn't rush back so quickly. Instead, early stage Rank 1 demon beasts would be unable to resist the lure of the spirit vein and occupy it immediately.
If the timing was right, there’d definitely be gains to be had.
Of course, there was another reason he agreed. Ye Jingyu’s father was the Ye Family head, Ye Xingliu.
He was also one of only two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the family. If Ye Jingyu was going, he must have a life-saving trump card in hand. Even if danger arose, it likely wouldn’t end in disaster.
Ye Jingcheng pondered for a moment, then dismissed the idea. There was still a month left, no need to rush.
After that, he stepped into the Treasure Pavilion. Holding the family’s token, he began exchanging for spirit herbs.
The one in charge of the Treasure Pavilion was the 8th Elder, Ye Haiping.
“8th Elder!” Ye Jingcheng proactively stepped forward and helped organize the remaining half of spirit herbs that was just taken out, neatly placing them back onto the rear shelves.
The Ye Family categorized their spirit herbs into two types: anything below Rank 1 mid-grade was usually stored and nurtured behind the counter along with magic tools, while Rank 1 mid-grade and above were stored in storage pouches using spirit jade.
“Jingcheng, no need, I can handle this myself—it won’t take long.”
“8th Elder, Jingcheng is just eager to exchange herbs!” Ye Jingcheng replied with a smile.
Hearing that, Ye Haiping understood the gesture was well-meant, so he let Ye Jingcheng help.
In just a few breaths, everything was sorted.
“What do you want to exchange for?” Ye Haiping clapped his hands.
“10 sets of herbs for Spirit Nourishing Pills, 20 jin of spirit beast meat, 2 Detoxification Pills for healing, and 2 Blood Essence Pills,” Ye Jingcheng said one by one.
He had already planned out what to say. The Crimson Flame Fox couldn't just suddenly recover, it had to be revealed little by little.
He had to give everyone the impression of a process.
Then, Ye Haiping thought of something and asked in doubt.
“Has the Crimson Flame Fox recovered?”
Ye Jingcheng shook his head.
“No such luck. There’s still a trace of life, and the poison seems to have faded a little. I’m just hoping for a lucky break, really.”
“It's good enough if it can live. That beast isn't simple. If it can endure, then its talent might be even greater than we expected. You really are a lucky one!” Ye Haiping nodded and praised him.
A Crimson Flame Fox cub at peak condition would be worth at least 600-700 contribution points—Ye Jingcheng had definitely scored a bargain this time.
As Ye Haiping spoke, he reached into the magic tool counter behind him and grabbed some spirit herbs for Spirit Nourishing Pills. Before long, he had pulled out ten full sets.
After that, he took out a large wooden box from a spirit beast pouch. The surface of the box was sealed with a spirit talisman.
Ye Haiping peeled off the talisman, revealing the flesh and blood of a Rank 1 Ironhide Pig, which was exactly 20 jin!
Finally, he brought out two pill bottles, each containing two pills.
“Ten sets of herbs for Spirit Nourishing Pills at 2 contribution points each, 20 points total. Spirit beast meat is 1 contribution point per 2 jin, 10 points total. Detoxification Pills and Blood Essence Pills are 5 points each—that’s 20 more. Altogether, that’s 50 contribution points.”
Ye Jingcheng nodded and handed over his family token, from which the points would be deducted.
The meat and herb materials were transferred into his storage pouch.
“8th Elder, may Jingcheng ask for your guidance?” Ye Jingcheng took out a jade slip.
He had engraved into it all the unknown spirit herbs he’d seen in the ancient book.
“This one’s Greenfish Fruit, named because it resembles a green fish. It’s a high-grade Rank 1 spirit fruit….”
……
Ye Haiping patiently explained each one to Ye Jingcheng.
After listening, Ye Jingcheng felt a little bitter. That pill was at least a high-grade Rank 1 pill, and with his current alchemy skills, he had no way of refining it.
“8th Elder, I’ll exchange for a few talismans too. Two Golden Sword Talismans, two Wood Vine Talismans, and two Water Shield Talismans.” Ye Jingcheng hesitated for a moment, then handed over his family token again.
He was heading to the demon valley in the Taihang Mountains in a month. At the very least, he needed to prepare, and talismans were among the best options.
“Alright.” Ye Haiping reached into the storage pouch again and quickly took out six talismans. These were all mid-grade Rank 1 talismans, and even within the Ye Family, each one cost 10 contribution points.
“That’s 60 contribution points in total.”