Making Spirit Stones

Halfway up Soaring Cloud Peak stood a grand, imposing hall. Security here was tight, with only a narrow bluestone stairway, dotted with sparse moss, winding its way inside.

Beside the bluestone steps lay patches of grass filled with spirit flowers of strange colors.

Yet Ye Jingcheng did not dare look too closely. This hall was the Ye Family's Treasure Pavilion, where clan members exchanged for treasures.

Moreover, those grassy patches were all part of formations. Entering them lightly meant getting lost; heavily meant being injured.

Only this bluestone stairway was free from the formations' interference and could be crossed to enter.

He had originally kept quite a few Spirit-Feeding Pills, but the Crimson Flame Fox consumed them quickly. With the addition of a Jade Ring Rat, in less than ten days, he had used up all his pills.

He had to come to the Treasure Hall to exchange for more spirit herbs, then return to the Pill Pavilion to refine more Spirit-Feeding Pills. He also intended to exchange for some spirit beast meat.

Beyond that, if possible, he also wanted to gather the spirit herbs for the pill formula recorded in the ancient book as soon as possible.

Before long, he crossed the bluestone steps and arrived before the main hall. There were quite a few cultivators in the hall, all exchanging for treasures.

Among them, he ran into his second brother, Ye Jingyong.

The latter had exchanged for a Flying Cloud Leopard. By rights, a spirit beast's appetite should have been even greater than that of his Crimson Flame Fox.

Thus, when Ye Jingcheng saw Ye Jingyong coming out of the Treasure Hall, he could clearly see the troubled look on his face. Back when he had carried off the Flying Cloud Leopard, Ye Jingyong had stood tall and straight, his face brimming with delight!

He was like an entirely different person now.

"Second Brother!" Ye Jingcheng greeted him.

Ye Jingyong glanced over. Seeing that it was Ye Jingcheng, he gave a helpless smile.

"Jingcheng, you're here to exchange for spirit food too? I finally understand why our Ye Family is so poor." Ye Jingyong spoke with a mournful expression.

"I've already come three times. My spirit herbs are gone, and so are my contribution points!"

"You have two spirit beasts. You've come several times too, haven't you?"

"Right!" Ye Jingcheng nodded. Though this was his first visit, seeing the longing in Ye Jingyong's eyes, he still nodded.

"Oh, right, now that you're here, Second Brother will take you to make some spirit stones when the time comes. I guarantee you'll have enough to squander for quite a while!" Ye Jingyong suddenly seemed to think of something. He kept rubbing his thumb against his index and middle fingers, finally revealing a bit of a smile.

Ye Jingcheng, however, was skeptical.

The Jing generation had all grown up on Soaring Cloud Peak, so he naturally knew Ye Jingyong's temperament well.

As for Ye Jingyong's ways of making spirit stones, he did not dare praise them.

"Don't worry, it's not me. Fourth Brother is leading the team. He gave me the information—do you believe it now?"

"Fourth Brother called for it?" Ye Jingcheng was somewhat tempted now. His fourth brother, Ye Jingyu, and second brother, Ye Jingyong, were opposites in the extreme. One was the strategist of the Ye Family's Jing generation, while the other was the brute of the Jing generation!

"Of course. But Fourth Brother said to wait another month." Ye Jingyong said.

Seeing that Ye Jingcheng had nodded, he leaned close to Ye Jingcheng's ear.

"It's that demon valley the family swept clean. There's a spirit vein there, so it'll definitely draw demon beasts back. We just need to wait a little longer."

With that, Ye Jingyong took his leave.

After considering it, Ye Jingcheng nodded as well. His fourth brother truly deserved his reputation as a strategist. The demon valley still carried plenty of bloody scent. Those powerful demon beasts would not return so quickly; instead, those early first-order demon beasts would be unable to resist the temptation of the spirit vein and would seize it first.

As long as they grasped the timing properly, they would not have to worry about coming away empty-handed.

Of course, Ye Jingcheng agreed for another reason as well. Ye Jingyu's father was the Ye Family head, Ye Xingliu.

He was also one of the Ye Family's only two Foundation Establishment cultivators. If he allowed Ye Jingyu to go, then Ye Jingyu certainly had life-saving trump cards in hand. Even if danger appeared, they would not truly be buried there. At most, the trip would be wasted, or they would lose some spirit stones. Their lives would never be in danger.

After pondering for a while, Ye Jingcheng shook his head and dismissed the thought. There was still a full month to go, so there was no need to rush.

He then stepped into the Treasure Hall, took out the family token, and began exchanging for spirit herbs.

The person in charge of the Treasure Pavilion was Ye Jingcheng's Eighth Granduncle, Ye Haiping.

"Eighth Granduncle!" Ye Jingcheng stepped forward voluntarily and helped Ye Haiping sort out the spirit herbs that had just been taken out, putting the remaining half back onto the counter behind them.

The Ye Family's spirit herbs were divided into two kinds. Most below middle-grade first order were nurtured inside the artifact cabinets at the back, while those above middle-grade first order were stored in the Ye Family's storage bags with spirit jade.

"Jingcheng, Eighth Granduncle can do it himself. It won't take long."

"Eighth Granduncle, Jingcheng is simply eager to exchange for spirit herbs!" Ye Jingcheng replied with a smile.

Hearing him say so, Ye Haiping understood that this was Ye Jingcheng's kindness and simply let him help.

Before long, everything had been put in order.

"What do you want to exchange for?" Ye Haiping clapped his hands.

"Ten sets of spirit herbs for Spirit-Feeding Pills, twenty jin of spirit beast meat, two Detoxification Pills for recovering from injuries, and two Blood Essence Pills!" Ye Jingcheng listed them one by one.

He had already thought through these explanations. The Crimson Flame Fox could not suddenly recover; he had to reveal its improvement bit by bit.

That way, everyone would see the process.

Ye Haiping, however, caught the implication. Somewhat startled, he asked, "That Crimson Flame Fox has recovered?"

Ye Jingcheng shook his head.

"How could I be so lucky? It merely has some life left in it, and the poison seems to have faded somewhat. Jingcheng is only entertaining the wild notion of picking up a bargain."

"As long as it lived, that was enough. That beast was no simple creature. The fact that it pulled through proves its talent surpassed even our expectations. You really are a lucky kid." Ye Haiping nodded, unable to resist praising him.

A Crimson Flame Fox cub in peak condition would fetch at least one or two thousand contribution points. Ye Jingcheng had definitely picked up a bargain this time.

As he spoke, Ye Haiping took some spirit herbs for Spirit Feeding Pills from the artifact counter behind him. Before long, he had gathered ten portions.

Besides that, he took a huge wooden box from his spirit beast pouch. A spirit talisman was affixed to the surface of the box.

Ye Haiping removed the talisman, revealing the flesh of a first-rank Ironhide Pig inside—exactly twenty pounds!

Finally, he took out two pill bottles, each containing two pills.

"Two contribution points per portion of Spirit Feeding Pill ingredients, twenty contribution points in total. One contribution point for two pounds of spirit beast meat, ten contribution points in total. Antidote Pills and Blood Tendon Pills are five contribution points each, twenty contribution points in total. That makes fifty contribution points altogether!"

Ye Jingcheng nodded as well and handed over his Ye Family token. The contribution points would be deducted from it.

The spirit beast meat and spirit herb ingredients were then placed into his storage pouch.

"Eighth Grandfather, may Jingcheng ask you for a bit more guidance?" Ye Jingcheng took out a jade slip.

He inscribed within it all the spirit herbs he had seen in the ancient book but did not recognize.

"This is a Greenfish Fruit. It got its name because it closely resembles a green fish. It is a first-rank high-grade spirit fruit..."

Ye Haiping explained them to Ye Jingcheng one by one!

After listening, Ye Jingcheng felt somewhat bitter inside. That spirit pill was at least a first-rank high-grade spirit pill. With his current alchemy skills, he was incapable of refining it.

"Eighth Grandfather, then I'd like to exchange for some talismans as well—two Golden Sword Talismans, two Wood Vine Talismans, and two Water Shield Talismans!" After hesitating for a while, Ye Jingcheng took out his token again.

A month later, he would be heading to the demon valley in Taihang Mountain. At the very least, he needed to make some preparations, and talismans were among the best things to have.

"Alright!" Ye Haiping reached into his storage pouch again and quickly pulled out six spirit talismans. They were all first-rank mid-grade talismans; even within the Ye Family, they cost ten contribution points each to exchange for.

"Sixty contribution points in total!"