Chapter 333: 3: Gathering Place of Rogue Cultivators_1
The ‘Spirit Condensing Incense’ burned, emitting a straight upward stream of cyan smoke, lingering and not dispersing.
Wang Ba, seated upon the ‘Spirit Jade Futon’, took a slight inhale and this thread of cyan smoke leisurely flowed into his nostrils.
Afterward, Wang Ba exhaled a stream of white Qi resembling drifting smoke.
A moment later, Wang Ba slowly opened his eyes, displaying an expression of satisfaction and regret:
“This Spirit Stone was well spent, as it can not only refine mana again but also speed up the circulation of mana…”
“Regrettably, it’s a bit too scarce.”
This ‘Spirit Condensing Incense’ was something he had specially purchased from Wen Yong with Spirit Stones previously.
It is beneficial to cultivation.
The price was not cheap; to burn a stick of incense, it was almost equivalent to three or four middle-grade Spirit Stones.
Even if Wang Ba was to consume chicken essence every day, it would still take tens of years to reach the middle-stage of Foundation Establishment. It was by relying on precious cultivation resources like the ‘Spirit Condensing Incense that’ he could quickly accumulate mana.
The downside to this method is the prodigious consumption of Spirit Stones.
Of course, as the current cash-cow of the Changyi Society, Wen Yong would not charge Wang Ba for this Spirit-condensing Incense even though it was expensive and had been procured from someone else.
However, Wang Ba was firm in not owing anyone any favors.
After all, he was a stakeholder in the Changyi Society. If he owed somebody, he would feel embarrassed about getting a bigger share of the profits.
Moreover, ever since they began cooperating, Wen Yong’s actions made Wang Ba very satisfied. He never leaked Wang Ba’s identity, and during the time of profit distribution, he was always generous.
Despite knowing that the other side behaves this way just to keep him as a cash-cow, Wang Ba didn’t feel good about taking things from Changyi Society for free.
Especially since he knew that all those years they were in partnership, the Spirit Stones Wen Yong had earned were significantly less than his own.
The cost of making chicken essence was just purchasing chicken feed and spirit materials for creating the treatment liquid. Besides this, it only consumed more time.
Even if his speed of refining was fast, the number of Spirit Chickens he could handle each day also had an upper limit.
If he didn’t do anything for a day and focused only on making chicken essence, he could produce only about a bottle or two.
He himself and Bu Chan had to reserve part of it for personal cultivation, only selling the surplus.
Even so, he would put about twenty to thirty bottles up for sale every three to four month.
But the more he earned, the more he spent.
Over the past eight or nine years, despite the dividend distribution, he spent a lot on buying spirit beasts, cultivation resources, a set of incomplete Class III defense array from Linglong Ghost Market’s Stage II at an exorbitant price, and two sets of the ‘Teleportation Array’. Consequently, his savings had dwindled down and only about ten thousand middle-grade Spirit Stones were left.
It’s not that he became ostentatious after having Spirit Stones.
The main reason was that the incomplete Class III defense array and the Teleportation Array were really useful to him, someone who has always been insecure about safety.
The Class III defense array doesn’t need any explanation. Those who understand, understand.
The Teleportation Array can be laid in a specific location, and as long as he is within the coverage area of the array, he can quickly return near the Array Plate through the Teleportation Talisman.
Of course, the coverage of this array is somewhat limited. Centered around the Array Plate, it’s about 200 Li.
Wang Ba placed one at home and another in a hidden mountain ravine about 180 Li away from home, not far from Baiyun Prairie.
This way, in case of any danger, both he and Bu Chan can escape in time.
It’s a pity that all these three items were obtained from a cultivator who had to sell their Sect’s heritage due to their Sect’s destruction. Even if he wanted to buy more sets, there were none.
He leisurely stood up, exiting the quiet room used for cultivation.
As usual, he made some time to visit the chicken coop and quickly processed hundreds of Class I spirit chickens.
However, before he had even started refining with the Spirit Cook’s magic tool, he suddenly felt a movement in his heart.
He seemed to subtly sense some slight commotion from the outside.
“Hmm?”
His eyes shone like electricity, seemingly piercing through a vast distance.
“A sound transmission talisman?”
Confused, Wang Ba beckoned with his hand.
Soon, a sound transmission talisman was let in through the array barrier and instantly landed in Wang Ba’s hand.
“Wen Yong?”
Glancing over it, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on Wang Ba’s face.
“Great! That Class II Tool Refiner has already arrived at Yan State and is currently heading to the territory where Zhenling Palace is located. I’m afraid he will reach near Baiyun Prairie in at most three to five days.”
Wang Ba was overjoyed.
Class II Tool Refiners, who need to accumulate a large amount of refining experience to achieve success, are very rare in Yan State, and are basically monopolized by a few major Sects.
The Supreme Elder of Zhenling Palace, located far in the north of Yan State, Zhang Daobai, who is also the one and only Immortal Master of Nascent Soul in Yan State, is a very rare Class III Tool Refiner.
As for Class IV, not only does Yan State lack them, but they are also nearly nonexistent in the surrounding smaller countries.
The reason is simple. While the low-end resources in smaller countries can get by, by the time it reaches Class III, it becomes tight.
Class IV resources can be disregarded, as they are almost all controlled by the top powers like Chu, Yan, Qi, and Jin.
Without enough resources for training, even the cultivators with talents cannot improve. Therefore, in smaller countries, the topmost Hundred Arts cultivators are usually Class III.
There are exceptions, but they are few and far between.
Mostly, many among the magic tools in the hands of cultivators in smaller countries are dumped by the major powers.