Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 762 - 736: Spirit Testing Instrument
Isn’t this a coincidence?
The familiar melody of "Two Tigers" immediately echoed in his mind, and Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but slightly raise the corners of his mouth.
After a brief exchange and sitting down, he replied unhurriedly, "During the Immortal Peach incident at Wo Hu Temple, I indeed participated and made several friends with whom I still have a good relationship. Were you there as well, Fellow Daoist Jun?"
"No, no, no, I didn’t join the fun," Jun Yan waved his hand with a smile and said, "I just thought it sounded familiar. When we met, I found that Mr. Jiang looked exactly like the benefactor in a picture my friend Shihu drew, so I was curious to ask."
Jiang Yuan pretended not to know, and said with surprise, "I haven’t known where Shihu has wandered off to since that day. So he knows Fellow Daoist Jun."
Sang Qi was quite confused. Clearly, it was her friend who introduced him, so how did these two already have a mutual friend?
She then laughed and said, "Today’s really a coincidence. Which Shihu are you talking about? Jun Yan, you’ve made a new friend and didn’t even introduce us!"
"That’s not fair to blame me," Jun Yan said with a smile, waving his hand again. "Shihu was trapped for many years and was finally released thanks to Mr. Jiang.
It roamed the Wilderness World, swearing to explore it fully, and we hit it off right away. Soon after, it left again without a trace. I haven’t had a chance to introduce you."
He turned his gaze to Jiang Yuan, "I heard you have urgent business with Miss Qi. Should I step out for a moment?"
Jiang Yuan waved his hand and said, "There’s no need to step out, Fellow Daoist. I do have urgent business and would like the young lady’s help."
As he spoke, he took out the Spirit Testing Instrument from his Storage Bag. Feeling somewhat nervous, he hoped that as long as the other party input Spiritual Energy, it would light up, preferably with a blue light!
A Divine Artifact?!
Sang Qi and Jun Yan almost simultaneously felt the unique oppressive aura of the Divine Artifact, their pupils quaking, followed by wild excitement!
Though unaware of its purpose, such a rare item suddenly appearing in the world made them both consider what they could exchange for such a treasure.
"Miss Qi, please infuse your spiritual power into it," Jiang Yuan held out the orb with his right hand, his heart involuntarily rising.
Sang Qi was overjoyed, thinking that by unintentionally cultivating Good Karma, Mr. Jiang’s surprises were getting bigger every time!
Now, was such a major opportunity as recognizing a Divine Artifact’s owner about to be handed over?!
Aside from binding it as its owner, she couldn’t think of any other reason to infuse her own spiritual energy into a Divine Artifact. Faced with it, her mind was racing, her enthusiasm showing in her slightly flush complexion, and her palms were a bit sweaty.
Jun Yan was even more envious. Given the common knowledge in the Cultivation Realm, he also thought that infusing spiritual energy into a Divine Artifact would bind it as the owner.
Thinking it was indeed worthy of a favor from Shihu, casually bringing a Divine Artifact to seek its owner!
Recalling how nonchalantly he had taken it out from the Storage Bag earlier, as if casually picking up a cabbage.
What kind of family wealth did he have to be so calm about a Divine Artifact and still be willing to hand it over?!
He was extremely envious, his yellow eyes with black irises fixated on the Spirit Testing Instrument, unwilling to part with it.
"I’ll infuse my spiritual energy now!" Sang Qi took a deep breath, suppressing her inner excitement, activated her cultivation technique, gently placed her right hand on the orb of the Divine Artifact, and in the next instant, poured in all her abundant spiritual power!
The Spirit Testing Instrument showed no reaction.
Jiang Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. Saying he wasn’t disappointed would be a lie, even though rationally he knew it was very likely that this place had already been polluted, and so for many, many years no ascension to immortality had happened in the Wilderness.
Yet when faced with reality, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss inside, and also feared the Spirit Testing Instrument might turn black.
Fortunately, it didn’t. It just sat quietly in his hand, showing no signs of lighting up.
"It doesn’t work?" Sang Qi felt that her abundant spiritual power had vanished into thin air, not to mention making the Divine Artifact recognize its owner, it hadn’t even budged an inch!
Facing such a great opportunity, she reluctantly asked, "Sir, may I try one more time?"
Jiang Yuan thought that trying multiple times wouldn’t work; it was already polluted, so how could more attempts lead to any reaction?
Yet he nodded in consent, harboring a sliver of hope that perhaps the remnant spirit of the Golden Chicken Immortal was waiting too long at the bottom of the lake and had not yet fully activated, being a bit slow to react.
After another failure, Sang Qi gradually accepted it, as cultivation emphasizes Natural Daoist Technique. Since both attempts had failed despite her best efforts, it signified that she was not fated with this treasure.
"Fellow Daoist Jun, would you like to try?" Jiang Yuan adjusted his mindset, thinking that since it didn’t turn black, there was still hope!
Just as he was about to put the Spirit Testing Instrument away, he turned and saw Jun Yan’s passionate expression, misunderstood his intent, and handed it over, not knowing what infusing one’s own spiritual power meant to cultivators.
"Thank you, sir!" Jun Yan was overjoyed, never daring to dream that such a heavenly opportunity would fall into his lap!
He was immensely grateful for coming to see Sang Qi today, for it was thanks to her that he acquired this opportunity!
Taking a deep breath, he circulated all his internal spiritual power, infusing it entirely into the Divine Artifact.
A moment later, he clasped his hands to express his gratitude once more, feeling quite disappointed inside.
Although he wasn’t recognized by the Divine Artifact, Mr. Jiang’s gesture of offering an opportunity was something to be remembered. They gave the chance, but it was his own lack of capability that was to blame, not others.
Once again, confirmed his feelings heavy, Jiang Yuan put away the Spirit Testing Instrument, opened his mouth unsure of where to start.
He couldn’t simply tell them that the Spiritual Energy in the Wilderness World was polluted, that without purification by Immortal Energy, ascension was impossible. Could he let everyone benefit when his courtyard evolved and rebuilt the Celestial Realm? That’s just nonsense!
How many people would believe such words?
Even if, against all odds, they did believe, if Daoxin were damaged further, wouldn’t that just make matters worse?
His hesitant expression, caught by Sang Qi and Jun Yan, seemed to carry a different meaning.
The two exchanged a glance, both guessing that Mr. Jiang’s hurried visit must have involved something important besides the recognition of the Divine Artifact, but both had failed, so some things were hard to say.
"If Mr. Jiang has more to say, please speak freely. Though our strength is lacking, my brother, as the Lord, does have some power. I could ask him to help!" Sang Qi cautiously probed, "Is it related to the... treasure earlier?"
Jiang Yuan nodded, then shook his head with a smile, "This treasure indeed involves many things, but now is not the time. Once the time is ripe, I will tell both of you the entire story. As for now..."
Four million Spirit Stones, should he ask for a loan? A bit difficult to ask given his pride. Throughout his life, he had only ever asked his parents for money.
Sell something? They probably are only interested in Divine Artifacts. Right, sell Firestones!
Suddenly inspired, Jiang Yuan took a Level Three Firestone out of his Storage Bag and handed it over, "Do either of you recognize this?"
"Oh? Isn’t this a Firestone!" Sang Qi’s eyes lit up immediately, nodding, "I used to use Firestones for lighting in my palace. But a few years ago, it was said there were issues with the mines, so we couldn’t get large supplies of Firestones anymore and switched to Luminous Pearls.
The Luminous Pearls are nice, but I prefer the Firestone. It’s both beautiful and has fiery warmth, and even after it burns out it’s fun to play with. Mr. Jiang, are you looking for this, or..."
Great! They’re a high-end customer! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Jiang Yuan replied immediately, "I have a large amount of Firestones to sell; I’m just not sure at what price Miss Qi would be willing to buy them?"
"I’d need to ask the steward; all the procurement matters are managed by them. Please wait a moment." Sang Qi instructed a maid to inquire;
Jun Yan, with eyes resembling those of a lively tiger, quickly said, "It seems luck is with us today. If Miss Qi has any surplus, could you spare some for me?
So that you know, sir, I am charged with overseeing and assisting in the folding of mountain space under the Lord’s authority.
Every time night is about to fall, and the Wilderness has not yet descended, I must patrol everywhere.
I drive those who refuse to hide back into the mountains, folding the mountain space before the Wilderness descends, to keep them from disturbing the Low Tier Demon Beasts or harming weak humans above the Wilderness.
After folding the space, some Demon Beasts need light for comfort. Firestones used to work excellently. In recent years, we’ve had nothing to use, which has been troublesome, but I don’t need overly advanced Firestones; ordinary quality will suffice."
Oh wow? That’s enlightening!
Jiang Yuan thought, so the mountains can fold up, and that’s why by nightfall, only low-level Demon Beasts roam around, while during the day, all high-level Demon Beasts are manually hidden?
"Easy there. I understand your troubles and will certainly spare some for you," Sang Qi cheerfully explained, "Mr. Jiang probably doesn’t know this; he is a cultivation fanatic!
Being adept at nightmare techniques, he effectively deals with those large creatures, thus he’s responsible for the day and night cycle safety in our domain. When we had enough Firestones, he just needed to patrol and drive them away on schedule, and the rest of the time he would cultivate in the mountains.
After the mine problem, our Firestones dried up, forcing Jun Yan to spend some of his cultivation time soothing those irritable creatures, which is quite exhausting."
"I never realized that burning Firestones has the effect of soothing Demon Beasts. This is the first I’ve heard," Jiang Yuan thought, could this be due to fossilization by a worm demon?
Sure enough, Jun Yan continued immediately, "The origin of these Firestones is surely extraordinary. Though they lack Spiritual Energy, burning them releases a strange aura. There’s no special feeling for a Demon Cultivator like me, but those creatures above the Wilderness, remaining fully beastly, are much more sensitive to certain auras.
Based on my observations, igniting the Firestone induces slight fear in the Demon Beasts, and with some guidance, they become tame and obedient."
Before long, the steward presented the account book.
"The Firestones are divided by grade. Previously, my palace mainly used Level Three Firestones, one hundred Spirit Stones each; but they are often scarce, so we mostly used Level Two Firestones, eighty Spirit Stones each."
Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, contemplating how his parents’ vegetables would be bought for a few cents in the village and sold for several bucks in the city. By contrast, dealers buying from a caravan at ten Spirit Stones each and then selling at a hundred Spirit Stones didn’t seem as outrageous.
He had acquired this stockpile from Sand Hill City, meticulously calculated by City Lord Ming.
After deciding to restart the Earth Fire, she sold part of the Firestones, using the gained Spirit Stones to purchase sufficient supplies to sustain the city’s people for over three years on basic living standards.
When the Earth Fire restarts, a full set of Firestones would be essential for instant conversion to Spirit Stones, enough to meet the remaining tribe’s needs. She personally ensured adequate reserves before fully sealing the Sky Pit.
Spending five million Spirit Stones to buy all the Firestones from the Sand Hill City warehouse, Jiang Yuan now had numerous sets of each grade of Firestones in his Storage Bag, 999 per set, planning to sell them for Spirit Stones, and figure something else if it weren’t enough!
"Oh? Mr. Jiang has so many Firestones?!" Jun Yan exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise, "Wasn’t it said that there was an issue with the Firestone mines? Was the supplier deceiving us?"
