Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 254: Chapter 173: Harvest_1

Translator: 549690339

The Green Jade Mountain Range was both the core of the Spirit Vein and the central hub of the grand Formation.

Xu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Azure Dragon Earth Spirit that had turned into a small serpent, yet he did not bring himself to ruthlessly kill it.

The so-called Earth Spirit is essentially a Mountain Spirit, similar in existence to the Black Mountain Old Demon. Over time, these spirits gain intelligence and can harness the power of mountains and the energy of Earth Veins. When used to set up Formations, they’re known as True Spirits, which can greatly enhance the power of a Formation.

Slaying such an Earth Spirit would yield an essence that must contain a top-grade Spirit Stone—an extremely precious natural treasure in the outside world.

But Xu Yang had no such plans at the moment.

Not only for this Earth Vein’s spirit but also within the Green Jade Sect…

“Master, look, so many Storage Bags, all filled with good stuff!”

A large bird flapped its wings, cooing as it flew into the Cave Mansion. It was covered in Storage Bags, and several more dangled from its beak; one might think it was a transformed elder from the Beggar’s Guild.

It was Laoliu!

It reverted to its original form and trotted over to Xu Yang’s side. While showing off the fully packed Storage Bags, it rubbed its big head affectionately against him.

No wonder it reverted back to its original form—had it used the appearance of a robust man to act so coquettishly, Xu Yang probably would have kicked it away.

That simply wouldn’t do!

As one of the first spirit pets to follow Xu Yang, Laoliu knew all too well that its bloodline and talent were inferior. Its status today as one of the three leaders of winged creatures on Fish and Dragon Island, on par with the Golden Eagle and the crafty Peacock, was due to its seniority and relationship with Xu Yang.

Thus, holding onto the master’s leg was a must—failing to do so was not an option.

“Bang!”

Xu Yang slapped the incorrigible bird away, then turned his gaze to the delicately standing girl behind him: “How is it?”

The girl bowed gracefully, her voice soft as she spoke, “Reporting to master, I’ve roughly finished the count: one hundred and thirty-five million lower-grade Spirit Stones, five hundred and sixty-seven thousand three hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones, three hundred and sixty-five top-grade Spirit Stones, one mid-tier Magical Treasure, three lower-tier Magical Treasures, and thirty-five supreme-grade Spiritual Artifacts.”

“Moreover, there are all kinds of Magical Artifacts, elixirs, Talismans, treasures of heaven and earth, Spirit Rice, Spiritual Medicine, and the Green Jade Sect’s library of Jade Slips, Scriptures, and Cultivation Techniques, the value of which cannot be simply estimated.”

“Furthermore, there are the Spirit Medicine Garden, Spirit Rice fields, Green Jade bamboo forest, Green Jade quarry, Green Jade fish ponds, and other production sites. If moved, they could also yield a considerable amount of materials.”

After the girl finished her report, Laoliu, who had been deeply affected by the conversation, also flapped closer, adding, “There’s more, master! I’ve captured all the disciples of the Green Jade Sect. Although most are just in Qi Cultivation, there are quite a few at the Foundation Establishment level and some who have just advanced to Golden Core. Gaga, they’re all tucked into the bags now!”

Xu Yang looked at him but said nothing.

Laoliu trembled and hurriedly adjusted its posture, shrinking its head and saying, “I haven’t searched their belongings yet. I’ll go and strip them clean straight away. We can surely squeeze out a few tens of millions of Spirit Stones from them—I’ll make sure that master is satisfied.”

Only then did Xu Yang turn his gaze away, saying to the girl, “First, settle the people properly. Places like the Spirit Medicine Garden should be left undisturbed for now—we may have to stay here for some time.”

“Yes!”

Hearing this, the girl didn’t say much and simply nodded in agreement.

“Alright, you may go.”

Xu Yang waved his sleeve and two streaks of light shot out, landing in the hands of the two recipients, revealing a jade bottle.

“Thank you for the reward, master!”

The girl flashed a sweet smile and curtsied again.

“Thank you for the reward, master~!”

Seeing this, Laoliu on the side mimicked her, squeezing its throat and twisting its body as it called out to Xu Yang.

Then…

“Bang!”

Xu Yang slapped the silly bird out of the cave and nonchalantly collected the fallen Storage Bags into his sleeve.

Seeing this, the girl chuckled and gracefully withdrew from the cave.

Let’s leave the comedic underlings aside for now.

Xu Yang sat on the “Green Jade Couch” left by Zhang Zhiqi, beginning to tally the spoils of this battle.

In this battle, he had sacrificed the Purple Cloud Spirit Land and expended a vast amount of Spirit Stones, Magical Artifacts, and a multitude of Formation Materials.

But where there was investment, there was return. He had annihilated all the Golden Core cultivators of the Three Sects along with Jing Yue, the Nascent Soul, within the Formation, beheading them with his sword and reaping a wealth of trophies.

Although due to the influence of the Void Spirit Immortal Mansion, the Earth Spirits of Liang Country were scarce, it was only a shortage, not a barren wasteland. The Three Sects of Golden Core had governed for a millennium and had their accumulations.

These accumulations consisted partly of common treasures stored as Sect reserves, and partly of private possessions of the Sect Masters and elders.

By slaying Jing Yue and others and storming the gates of the Green Jade Sect, Xu Yang had seized a significant portion of their thousand-year potentiality.

How significant? There were hundreds of millions of Spirit Stones alone, mined from various Spirit Veins and stored by the Three Sects.

Hundreds of millions of lower-grade Spirit Stones and several million middle-grade amounted to further hundreds of millions after conversion.

There were even over a thousand top-grade Spirit Stones.

The exchange rate from lower-grade to middle-grade Spirit Stones was one to a hundred.

From middle-grade to top-grade Spirit Stones, it was one to a thousand.

The value of top-grade Spirit Stones was clear to see. They were not only a major resource for high-tier cultivators but also essential materials for setting up high-tier Formations and crucial for Artifact Refining and Alchemy.

Furthermore, high-grade Spirit Stones can self-recover. As long as their Spiritual Energy isn’t completely drained in one go, they can autonomously absorb the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit. With time, they will refill the consumed Spiritual Energy, making them legacy items and strategic resources.

As for the Supreme Grade Spirit Stones…

In the land of Liang Country, it’s feared only three such stones can be produced, and these are the cores of the Three Sects’ grand formations.

Such treasures are the supreme materials for setting formations, and they can even raise the tier of the formation. Countless Formation Masters dream of acquiring them.

Xu Yang is not just a Formation Master, but also an Artifact Refiner, and he craves these Supreme Grade Spirit Stones even more.

According to research by Wandao School, high-quality energy transmission can effectively enhance the battle capabilities of Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor.

Therefore, Wandao School has always been dedicated to developing high-quality, high-tier Mana Money.

But Mana Money, this artificially created item, is inferior in all aspects compared to the naturally formed Spirit Stones.

In the World of Dao and Law where the Yuan Sprit lies dormant, only Mana Money can be used, with no other options.

But in the present world, Xu Yang can fully exploit Spirit Stone technology to further strengthen the battle capabilities of the Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor.

If he embedded a thousand high-grade Spirit Stones, combined with the Supreme Grade Green Jade Azure Dragon, it’s possible that his Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor could reach the Ten million artifacts level.

A Ten million artifacts level Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor, personally controlled by him with Skill Traits enhancement, could completely rival a Nascent Soul.

In this way, he might again roam unchallenged in the Void Spirit Realm.

Beyond Spirit Stones, there were Magical Treasures.

One high-grade Magical Treasure, severely damaged, not suited for major use.

Nine middle-grade Magical Treasures, all covered with scars, in need of repairs.

Over twenty low-grade Magical Treasures, mostly from the Green Jade Sect, each with varying degrees of damage.

Moreover, there were numerous Spiritual Artifacts and various Artifact Refining materials, all stored in the Green Jade Sect’s treasury.

It is hard to avoid damage to Magical Treasures, after all, they are spoils of war, and it’s unrealistic to expect them to be intact.

Even if they were intact, they wouldn’t be of much use to Xu Yang.

He already possessed Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor; the other treasures were unfit for major use.

Unless he used these treasures as cores to refine a batch of standardized Magic Artifacts to assemble a new set of Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor.

But that would be pointless, and Xu Yang had no intention of wasting time repairing these severely damaged treasures.

Melt them down directly, extract the materials.

Then, with these materials and other items he had on hand, he could craft himself a Spiritual Treasures.

A thousand years of accumulation in the World of Dao and Law, the concentrated efforts of Wandao School, had pushed the primary skills of Talisman, Formation, and Artifact Refining to the fourth tier; only Alchemy, limited by materials, remained hovering at the third tier.

As the head of Wandao School, Xu Yang’s skills in Talisman, Formation, and Artifact Refining had all stepped into the fourth tier, and he had immersed himself in these skills for a thousand years, honing them to perfection, achieving a state of transcendence.

Moreover, with the effects of Skill Traits, refining a Spiritual Treasure wasn’t an issue.

The only reason he hadn’t crafted one before was the lack of materials—a skilled woman can’t cook without rice.

But now, having seized the thousand-year accumulation of the Three Sects, he had the capital to craft a Spiritual Artifact for himself.

With a Spiritual Treasure, he could build a Ten million artifacts level, or even Ten million artifacts level Spirit-Treasure Mech Armor.

With that in this world of powerful Cultivators and lurking dangers, he would have some self-protective power.

Beyond Spirit Stones and Magic Artifacts, there were also Elixirs and Talismans, no less valuable.

Moreover, the entrance to Green Jade Mountain, a third-tier Spirit Land, was another great treasure.

Add to that the captured disciples of Green Jade Sect and various others from all quarters and Loose Cultivators…

Xu Yang could definitely operate in such a way as to transform these items, these people, and these events into resources that supported him.

In the World of Dao and Law, why had his Cultivation advanced so swiftly?

The reason was that he propagated his teachings far and wide, with numerous disciples and followers. The full potential of his “teacher” Skill Traits were maximized, bringing reciprocal benefits back to him.

As long as he had enough disciples, the benefits from the teacher Skill Traits were no less powerful than those of a high-grade Heavenly Spirit.

Hence, for Xu Yang, the population was also a crucial resource that must be made use of.

But he had no intention of establishing a Sect, as he couldn’t secure a foothold, and if he did establish a Sect and lineage, there would inevitably be a purge afterward, rendering it useless.

If not through establishing a Sect, how would he propagate his teachings far and wide?

He just needed to change his approach.

After all, as long as the teachings were passed on, the Skill Traits would take effect. There was no need for the formalities of teacher-student or parent-child relationships. He could create a commerce association, mass print Martial Arts and Taoist Scriptures, and distribute them half-sold, half-given away across Liang Country’s various circles.

In time, all the Cultivators in Liang Country would become his “Cultivation accelerators!”

Together with the resources already in hand and those soon to be his, even if his Spirit-Treasure incarnation was eventually destroyed by the Three Sects, he would still profit, and after achieving his goals could retreat and return to Fish and Dragon Island to rest easy in contemplation and accumulation.

However, achieving all these things would take quite a bit of time.

Would the Three Sects give him that time?

Have the reinforcements arrived?