Chapter 718
Ni Chang Yuan Jun absentmindedly tapped the leaves of the Ling Mei and said, “Just two more days.”
The female disciple in the green robe couldn’t hold back any longer and interjected, “Yuan Jun, you’ve said that three times already!”
Seeing that Ni Chang Yuan Jun still ignored her, the disciple continued, “Didn’t you say that the situation with the Tianhe Sect is troublesome and that our sect is in a precarious position?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun suddenly stood up.
The green-robed disciple exclaimed, “Yuan Jun, are we leaving?”
“Where to?” Ni Chang Yuan Jun glanced at her, her expression puzzled. “I’m going to ask Qian Zhenren how to cultivate this rare Cold Moon Mei and to exchange some insights on spirit plants.”
“…”
Did you not hear a word I said, Yuan Jun?
Watching Ni Chang Yuan Jun hurriedly exit the courtyard, the green-robed disciple understood that when she mentioned “exchange,” she truly meant it.
…
Zheng Fa was pondering the secret techniques of the cave heavens that Ni Chang Yuan Jun had taught him when he saw Qian Zhenren rushing over.
“Zhangmen!”
“What’s the matter?”
Zheng Fa looked at Qian Zhenren, whose face was a mix of surprise and excitement, feeling a bit confused.
Qian Zhenren exclaimed, “This morning, I discussed spirit plant cultivation with Yuan Jun, and when we mentioned our need for spirit plants that can restore spiritual roots, she said she knows of some!”
Zheng Fa stood up from the stone bench, equally astonished and delighted.
“She knows?”
“Yes! Yaochi has cultivated several types of spirit plants that can restore spiritual roots!”
(End of this chapter)
**Chapter 494: A Triad of Cooperation, Finally Reaping Rewards**
“Spirit medicine that can restore spiritual roots?” Ni Chang Yuan Jun looked at Zheng Fa and Qian Zhenren as they hurriedly approached, her expression one of surprise. “Does someone in the Jiushan Sect have damaged spiritual roots?”
Her misunderstanding was quite normal.
The transformation of spiritual roots that Zheng Fa and the others were working on essentially involved two techniques:
One was using thunder techniques to guide the growth direction of nerves.
But that alone wasn’t enough; the nerves that determine spiritual roots are extremely fine, requiring a high degree of precision—any slight error could be catastrophic.
Moreover, thunder techniques can be somewhat harmful to the body, making the technical difficulty quite high.
Only by supplementing with spirit medicine to maintain an environment conducive to the growth of spiritual roots could they achieve perfection.
After much research, Mu Qingyan and the others discovered that a certain spirit medicine seemed effective in restoring spiritual roots.
However, this spirit medicine didn’t work with complete efficacy even on spirit mice, let alone on humans.
More importantly, that spirit medicine had not been cultivated in the modern era, causing the project to hit a snag.
Thus, upon hearing that Yaochi had several spirit medicines with similar effects, he rushed over.
Seeing his serious expression, Ni Chang Yuan Jun understood that this matter held significant importance for the Jiushan Sect.
“What does Alliance Leader Zheng want?”
“May I ask if Yaochi could sell us some corresponding spirit medicines?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun glanced at Qian Zhenren, her expression suddenly turning strange. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “If I didn’t know about your Jiushan Sect’s breeding capabilities, then of course, it would be possible.”
Uh-oh.
Our Qian Zhenren is too outstanding, making Ni Chang Yuan Jun want to put a chokehold on us.
Zheng Fa and Qian Zhenren exchanged glances, both feeling a bit helpless. Looking back at Ni Chang Yuan Jun, they saw her expression still warm yet resolute, clearly not losing her stance due to her admiration for Qian Zhenren.
It must be said that Zheng Fa had also realized that cultivators of the Dao Fruit, regardless of their nature, possess their own character, which is hard to change by external forces.
He didn’t want to force her:
Not to mention that Yaochi was stronger, it was not about who could force whom.
Simply put, Ni Chang Yuan Jun had traveled a long way to impart divine techniques to Zheng Fa, and although it was entrusted by the Taishang Dao, it was still a favor to the Jiushan Sect.
Zheng Fa kept this in mind.
But those spirit medicines were indeed crucial for him…
Seeing Zheng Fa fall silent, Ni Chang Yuan Jun smiled and suddenly said, “I’ve lingered here for too long; I should take my leave…”
“Yuan Jun.” Zheng Fa suddenly interrupted her.
“Hmm?”
“What do you think of the Jiushan Sect’s spirit plant cultivation techniques?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun looked deeply at Qian Zhenren, her tone sincere:
“Setting everything else aside, the Jiushan Sect’s breeding capabilities are rare in the world.”
She paused and added, “In this regard, I fear that Yaochi may not be as good as your sect.”
This was a fair assessment.
The Jiushan Sect’s strength lay primarily in its breeding capabilities.
This ability is, in essence, a subtle application of modern genetic theory.
From their experiences in cultivating spirit plants, many of them originally required special environments, yet the Jiushan Sect managed to cultivate numerous varieties that could thrive in the Jiushan realm through various techniques.
However, as Ni Chang Yuan Jun pointed out, in other aspects, the Jiushan Sect’s accumulation was somewhat lacking.
According to Qian Zhenren’s reports to Zheng Fa, Yaochi also had many unique insights in spirit plant cultivation—after all, agriculture cannot develop without some understanding of genetic theory.
The spirit farming techniques of Yaochi, along with their understanding of spirit plant growth, had accumulated over three epochs, making it quite rich.
Not to mention the precious resources like the essence of Ren Water, which sounded quite impressive.
From Qian Zhenren’s reports, Zheng Fa also summarized the differences between the Jiushan Sect and Yaochi’s spirit farming techniques:
The Jiushan Sect could produce any outrageous spirit plant.
Yaochi could nurture any delicate spirit plant to life.
Therefore…
“Would Yaochi be willing to collaborate with my Jiushan Sect?”
“Collaborate?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun was momentarily taken aback and asked, “Are you referring to the previous matter where your Jiushan Sect wanted to do business with us at Yaochi?”
“No, it’s not just that.”
Zheng Fa spread his hands on the stone table in the courtyard, inviting Ni Chang Yuan Jun to take a seat.
Once they were seated around the stone table, he elaborated on his thoughts:
“I believe Yaochi is aware that my Baixian Alliance has been constructing some islands in the sea.”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun nodded, “I’ve indeed seen quite a few Baixian cultivators along the way.”
“The collaboration I’m proposing is primarily about this.” Zheng Fa looked at Ni Chang Yuan Jun and said, “My Jiushan Sect wishes to establish a trade route connecting the two great continents of the East and West.”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun’s eyes widened in surprise.
Zheng Fa pointed in the air, and a light curtain unfolded like a scroll, revealing a subtle map.
At the center of the map was the sea, and the most prominent feature was over fifty islands, marked in gold, shimmering before Ni Chang Yuan Jun’s eyes.
“This is…”
“This is the initial establishment of our Baixian Alliance’s relay stations,” Zheng Fa declared loudly. “After more than a decade, my Jiushan Sect has selected these islands.”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun looked at the islands and couldn’t help but ask, “What makes these islands special?”
“They have relatively abundant spiritual energy, suitable for cultivators to settle, and there aren’t too many dangers nearby…”
“And for every five islands, we have a Yuanying cultivator stationed, with two Huashen cultivators patrolling the shipping routes.”
At this point, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.
This was no simple matter.
Since Uncle Pang of the Baixian Alliance began the investigation, they had been exploring the sea.
The sea is not like the two continents of the East and West, where the habitable area for humans is minimal, and there are many perilous places.
It took them over a decade to roughly map out a relatively safe shipping route.
Along with the resources spent on relocating Baixian cultivators, it truly consumed a lot of manpower and finances.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun suddenly recalled when she first left the Western Continent and saw the Baixian Alliance cultivators, murmuring, “You spent over a decade just to do this?”
Zheng Fa nodded gently.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun gazed at Zheng Fa for a long moment before asking, “What does this have to do with our collaboration?”
“Why ask when you already know the answer, Yuan Jun?” Zheng Fa smiled.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.
“Yuan Jun, we’ve calculated that if we use a faster method, we can deliver Yaochi’s resources to the Eastern Continent within six months, and the transportation cost would be less than one-tenth of the original.”
“In six months, we can continuously transport Taishang Dao’s elixirs to Yaochi.”
“We can also transport Yaochi’s spirit medicines to Taishang Dao.”
The method Zheng Fa and the others envisioned was to use the Shenxiao warships throughout the journey, changing crews at each relay station without changing ships, allowing for uninterrupted travel.
The current Shenxiao warships had also been updated; not only were they faster than before, but their design was also more modular—
This meant that even if problems arose, repairs would be straightforward.
“Six months?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun murmured.
Crossing the sea wasn’t difficult for her; it took her less than half a month.
But she was a true immortal.
No sect would allow a true immortal to transport goods, let alone those inexpensive resources.
For any cultivator below Yuanying, or even Huashen, spending years navigating the vast ocean was a grueling task fraught with danger.
In other words, the trade between the East and West in the past was high-risk and even higher in cost.
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