Ever since he gave up on hoping to elevate his cultivation level, Ji An spent all his accumulated resources on various spirit wines and delicacies, though he rarely encountered Tier Two Upper Grade ingredients.

Besides Red Flame Peak, there weren’t any stable channels to provide them.

In the Western Continent, resources at or above Tier Two Middle Grade were mostly used for making pills. While spiritual food could enhance cultivation, it was far less effective compared to pills.

Ji An sat down and laughed:

"Senior Brother, you should visit Red Flame Peak more often, where good wine and food await."

Now he didn’t need to expand his Divine Mansion any further, nor could he continuously cultivate to elevate his cultivation method.

If he didn’t practice magic techniques, he had an abundance of free time each day.

Jia Yu laughed heartily and jokingly said:

"Junior Brother, you’re already a Fifth Transformation of the Chao Origin Stage cultivator. If the ancestor knew I often invited you for drinks, he’d probably break my legs!"

Without considering life-prolonging items, both he and the ancestor had only a little over a hundred years of lifespan left.

For the ancestor, cultivating more Golden Core Cultivators for the sect is the most pressing issue, and the junior in front of him is one of the hopes of the ancestor.

If he were to become a fox friend and drinking buddy, he would certainly face criticism.

Jia Yu took out a wine gourd, filled it with two jars of wine, and sternly said:

"Junior Brother, I still have the responsibility of guarding the Treasure Pavilion, so I cannot drink too much. Let’s eat more instead."

Ji An failed to stifle a laugh. The gathering hadn’t started yet, and the wine was already packed—so unorthodox!

This Senior Brother’s fondness for wine was even greater than before, as evidenced by his actions.

"As you say, Senior Brother."

According to the disciples, since Ji An left Red Flame Peak, Senior Brother Jia would personally visit once every six months, taking good care of things.

The two avoided discussing cultivation, instead talking about the ups and downs of the sect over the years.

Jia Yu put down his wine cup and said, "Junior Brother, ever since the sect adopted your proposed division of labor and cooperation method, the results have been remarkable.

Now, the sect’s strategy is to reduce the number of new disciples recruited by about thirty percent compared to before.

A hundred years later, the overall strength of the sect will have greatly improved.

The ancestor has long wanted to reward you, but the warehouse hasn’t been well-stocked over these years, so the reward may take several more years to come."

Ji An chewed and swallowed some beef, saying:

"The ancestor never mentioned anything about a reward to me."

"Of course, the ancestor wouldn’t bring it up. Without anything to reward you with now, talking about a reward would be like painting cakes to satisfy hunger, wouldn’t it?

Not just the ancestor, but no sect leader would make such empty promises."

Ji An smiled, not hoping for any reward. When he traveled, the ancestor gave him a Bing Fire Divine Thunder Talisman, already making him deeply grateful.

He slightly furrowed his brows, his voice lowering:

"Although the Demon Beasts haven’t fully retreated, the possibility of a demon calamity breaking out is already very low. As we grow stronger by the day, our relationships with other sects may no longer be as harmonious.

Senior Brother, you often meet with the ancestor; have you discussed this situation?"

A stronger neighbor is probably not something the other two sects would want to see.

Previously, the sect mainly exchanged magical artifacts, spiritual artifacts, and beast tamings for pills and other resources from the other two sects.

Now, with the strengthening of the Agricultural Hall, the Dan Ding Institute will also grow stronger.

As a result, the sect will become less dependent on Luofeng Valley, and over time, it will become a formidable competitor.

Without external pressures, internal conflicts are likely to surface.

Jia Yu nodded lightly, "The ancestor does have concerns in these areas, but after analyzing it, we’ve concluded that unless we form an overwhelming advantage and show signs of annexation, significant conflicts are unlikely to erupt.

Even if a conflict does erupt, it would be a matter for a few hundred years down the line.

The ancestor said he is only responsible for leading the sect to become stronger; future matters should be left to the next and following sect leaders to worry about."

Ji An pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.

This isn’t like the global economic integration of his previous life; any slightly larger power could close its doors and be self-sufficient.

He curiously asked, "Senior Brother, who will be the next sect leader after the next?"

The next sect leader will inevitably be Yuxiao Ancestor, and the one after that will have to be chosen from the new Golden Core Cultivators.

Jia Yu showed a cunning smile and said:

"Why, Junior Brother, are you interested? It’s not entirely impossible."

Ji An shook his head, "Just curious."

He wasn’t interested in staying in the Western Continent for the rest of his life and would eventually leave, but there weren’t many candidates for the sect leader, and he could roughly guess who they might be.

However, the specifics would depend on who could break through to the Golden Core Stage.

With dishes and cups strewn about, Ji An stood up to take his leave:

"Senior Brother, let’s meet again another day."

...

Three days later, at 5:00 AM.

Ji An walked out of the grotto mansion, the cold stars dotted the celestial vault. He rode the clouds from the mountainside downward, heading towards the cold pool.

Cultivating the Water Element Chapter of the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture worked best near the spirit vein spring.

He took out the Water-Resistant Bead and dove to the bottom of the cold pool, where the glow from the Pure Water Lotus illuminated the area. A Cyan Water Turtle lay in the mud beside the spirit plants, its eyes closed, seemingly in deep sleep.

Now, Lan Bei’s visits to the shore had become less frequent, occasionally going out to seek out Celestial Essence Pears, spending most of its time at the bottom of the pool. The demon beasts were intelligent and knew well which environment was beneficial for growth.

Near the spring was a stone slab, and after Ji An arrived, he cleaned a bit of the mud off of it, took out a Soul-Calming Grass pudun, and sat cross-legged to start his cultivation technique.

Pitch-black water element spirit light emerged from the colorless water, absorbed into him through his breath, as spirit qi was engulfed, stirring a whirlpool like a sea eye.

The Gui Water Dao Seed in the Yongquan Acupoint and the Ren Water Dao Seed in the Zhaohai Acupoint appeared as ebbing and rising tides, alternating in brightness and dimness.

As spiritual qi circulated in the immortal veins, the sound of waves occasionally resounded within him.

It only required one grand circulation for the spiritual qi not to refine into magical power, as if the rushing river flowed into the dantian.

In his dantian, it was as if a waterfall descended from the sky, shrouded in mist.

The Primordial Life Fire’s black outer flames flickered as the Stone Turtle’s mouth moved, devouring one-tenth of the magical power.

The surface of the five divine mansions shimmered brilliantly during the operation of the cultivation technique, providing maximum nourishment to the immortal veins.

An hour passed before Ji An slowly gathered his power, his gaze like a deep lake, harboring strength amidst calmness.

He touched his chin with his hand, slightly frowning, wondering if it was just an illusion, but he felt like the speed of refining spiritual power had increased compared to previous days.

Logically, this should be impossible, as he was already a Fifth Transformation of the Chao Origin Stage cultivator, and any slight improvement was incredibly valuable.

As he couldn’t deduce the reasons, he kept the doubt in his heart and floated up from the cold pool.

Riding the clouds aloft, he suddenly heard a high-pitched roar coming from the Clear Spirit Bamboo Forest, almost as if making an announcement.

Ji An laughed heartily as he flew to the bamboo forest and landed, only to see that the beast’s antlers had grown to half a foot long, each with two forks, their color as green as fresh leaves washed by rain.

"Yoo-hoo!" The deer’s cry was filled with joy.

Ji An patted the beast’s sturdy back and touched its antlers, softly asking:

"What new skills do you have now?"

This was his biggest concern; in his plan, the Cyan Deer was a model worker, and if he ever left the sect, he’d be counting on it to do the work.

’Descendant of the Five-Colored Deer, do not let me down!’

"Yoo-hoo!"

With a confident roar, the Cyan Deer’s antlers began to glow, green patterns on its body also lit up.

Soon, centered around the beast, a green light beam shot straight to the celestial vault, spreading surging wood element qi.

Green light droplets fell like a starry rain, vanishing as they sank into the spirit plants, an overwhelming magic intent began to diffuse.

The bamboo leaves rustled in the forest, and one by one, the shoots that had just emerged half a foot high quickly grew, reaching a foot tall in an instant.

"Excellent!"

Ji An was in a fine mood; this talent technique undoubtedly reached the Chao Origin Stage level, and wasn’t low in grade.

He calculated carefully, and it should be roughly equivalent to the level of the Great Success Cyan Dragon Awakening Skill.

Riding the clouds into the sky, he called:

"Once more!"

The Cyan Deer repeated its display with pride, and Ji An, observing the spread of the spirit light’s range, nodded in satisfaction and tossed a Top-grade Biluo Fruit.

"A reward for you."

He was elated, with the coverage area being about thirty acres—what more could he ask for!

’Truly a competent worker, deserving of supplying a Top-grade Spirit Fruit every three days in the future.’

Since the beast was to work hard in the future, it naturally warranted increased nurturing efforts.