Chapter 23

Zhang Yan usually saw the Five Elements Divine Sand measured by the pound, but this person directly asked for a thousand pounds. He wondered if he had heard wrong.

In fact, each disciple of the Lower Academy had the support of royal relatives. Although the Five Elements Divine Sand was rare, it was widespread in Donghua Continent. As long as one was willing to invest the manpower, it was not difficult to collect.

In the past, large sects gathered divine sand by relying on the vast number of civilian laborers controlled by secular nobles.

For example, Cao Ying's father was a national duke, and with a single word, he could mobilize hundreds of thousands of people. Although she did not have such power, and most family matters were handled by her elder brothers, she could still mobilize ten thousand people.

Seeing that Zhang Yan did not respond for a long time, she thought he was dissatisfied. She gritted her teeth and said, "The Long River upstream is already frozen, making it difficult for boats to travel, and the collection of divine sand is not easy. Next spring, I am willing to add another thousand pounds, making it two thousand pounds in total. What does Master Zhang think?"

Zhang Yan, seeing her misunderstanding, did not explain and simply said, "Agreed."

Cao Ying let out a sigh of relief. She had not had the chance to look at Zhang Yan earlier, but now, even with her experience, she could not help but admire him.

Zhang Yan was handsome, with a nose like a hanging gourd and lips pressed into a thin line. His back was straight, and his shoulders broad. Even sitting, his physique was noticeably taller than the average person. After reaching the True Formation stage, he had already begun to exude a divine aura, adding to his transcendent charm.

"Hmm, is there anything else?"

Seeing Zhang Yan's deep, unfathomable gaze, Cao Ying hurriedly lowered her head, her heart pounding. She replied, "If Master has any secular matters, you can instruct us to handle them."

Originally, she had brought fifty servants to give to Zhang Yan, but after Zhao Yuan's reminder that Zhang Yan did not like having many servants, and since this was their first meeting, she did not dare to mention it. Seeing that Zhang Yan seemed to want to dismiss her, she did not dare to stay longer. She glanced at Zhao Yuan, bowed, and gracefully left.

"Brother Zhao, why did Lady Cao come to see me?" After Cao Ying left, Zhang Yan turned to Zhao Yuan and asked about the reason.

Zhao Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "In recent years, Cao Ying has been pursued by a Lower Academy disciple of the Beichen Sect, who wants to take her as a concubine and teach her Daoist techniques. Her several elder brothers seem to have the same intention. Therefore, she is seeking protection. If Senior Brother Zhang is willing to be her patron, this person will not dare to trouble her again."

He did not dare to hide the truth from Zhang Yan. Moreover, Zhang Yan would eventually find out about these matters. It was better to tell him now. Besides, the Beichen Sect was not a major sect and was not even considered a second-rate sect compared to the Jingcang Sect. This matter would only benefit Zhang Yan.

In fact, Cao Ying's decision to make Zhang Yan her patron was not just because of these reasons. She also saw a bright future for Zhang Yan. As a new disciple, he was not from a Daoist family and would not have a large appetite.

Sure enough, upon hearing the name of the Beichen Sect, Zhang Yan did not ask further and said, "Since Senior Brother Zhao has spoken, I will agree."

Zhao Yuan was overjoyed, rose, and bowed to Zhang Yan, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

"Senior Brother Zhao, there's no need for formalities."

The two chatted for a while longer, and then Zhao Yuan got up to leave, returning with a bright demeanor.

The snake spirit Luo Xiao poked his head out of the tripod, looking as if he had expected this, "What do you think? As a disciple of the Jingcang Sect, with just a word, you can mobilize thousands of people to serve you. Once you enter the Upper Academy, you can summon the rulers of cities and countries at will. How impressive is that? Unfortunately, my clan, despite having millions of aquatic spirits, is confined to one place, far inferior to your major sects."

Zhang Yan, who had initially valued the status of a disciple for the sake of cultivation, now realized he had overlooked other aspects. He nodded, "Friend Luo is right."

Luo Xiao chuckled, "Once you have the divine sand, you can trade it with some fellow disciples from noble families for some herbs..."

"Herbs?" Zhang Yan looked at Luo Xiao again, his voice deep, "Friend Luo, can you refine elixirs?"

Luo Xiao said proudly, "Of course. Although I cannot refine high-grade elixirs, I can easily make healing and restorative elixirs."

"Since Friend Luo says so, the cauldron you need for refining must be this bronze tripod, right?"

Zhang Yan saw through Luo Xiao's thoughts at a glance, but Luo Xiao did not feel embarrassed, "Of course. This tripod is a fine magical tool, but it is not made of ordinary bronze. It is cast from high-quality Longshang star sand. The cultivator who refined this tripod was highly skilled. If I hadn't been steamed by you and noticed the unusual changes in the tripod's aura, I wouldn't have recognized it. I guess the person who gave you this tripod didn't know its true origin. Tsk, what a bargain for you. Using such a treasure to cook food is a waste. Refining elixirs is the proper use."

Zhang Yan was greatly surprised. Longshang star sand?

He had only heard of it in legends. Although he did not know its value, he knew it was a high-quality material for refining magical tools. How much Longshang star sand would it take to cast such a large tripod?

Only ancient cultivators could have such extravagance.

Luo Xiao glanced at Zhang Yan and said, "You don't need to be heartbroken. Since I can refine healing elixirs, I can also provide you with many benefits. You will need a lot of elixirs to open your meridians, and I can refine them all for you."

Seeing that Luo Xiao was eager to promise benefits, Zhang Yan found it amusing, "I have no such intention. This tripod is of no use to me for now. If you need it, feel free to use it."

To him, Luo Xiao himself was more important.

At this critical stage of opening the meridians, he had to be extremely cautious.

Without a master to guide him, he could rely on the残玉 for cultivation techniques, but he was not clear about the taboos and necessary items.

Luo Xiao, although not a human cultivator, was a snake spirit at the Xuan Guang stage, knowledgeable and experienced. Guiding a small cultivator who had not yet opened his meridians was more than enough.

Zhang Yan seized the opportunity to ask many questions. Luo Xiao, for some reason, answered all of Zhang Yan's questions in detail.

"Our demon race can naturally practice high-level techniques after taking human form, without the need to open meridians," Luo Xiao coiled around the tripod's handle, his head raised, and spoke incessantly. "But I know that human cultivators have three grades of meridian opening: upper, middle, and lower. This is related to the meridian-opening techniques and the Jade Liquid Pool. If you want to open your meridians, you should find a high-quality Jade Liquid Pool. The pools are divided into six grades, and only the best techniques combined with the highest-grade pool can achieve the upper-grade meridian opening."

The Jade Liquid Pool is a natural formation where the spiritual milk from stone embryos in the earth's veins combines with the essence of the earth's veins. It nourishes the body and meridians and strengthens the true essence during the meridian-opening process, which is extremely important for cultivators at this stage.

Of course, there are not enough pools in the world, but the key is the stone embryos in the pools. Therefore, noble families spend hundreds or even thousands of years cultivating stone embryos to create their own Jade Liquid Pools, which shows the depth of their resources.

Disciples passed down from master to disciple can only rely on the pools found by their predecessors to open their meridians. If they don't have one, they have to borrow the pools from noble families, thus being controlled by them.

Zhang Yan knew that the Lower Academy must have Jade Liquid Pools, but his master would never let him use them, so he had to find another way.

"Since Friend Luo says the demon race doesn't need to open meridians, are there any Jade Liquid Pools in the Sanpo region?"

Luo Xiao chuckled, "There are, but if we demons take them and sell them to human cultivators, wouldn't that be better? So they all have owners. If you want to take them for free, it's impossible."

Zhang Yan shook his head. Buying a Jade Liquid Pool from the Sanpo Lake demons? Not only did he lack the financial means, but even if he had them, he wouldn't survive to use it.

At this moment, he remembered a legend and asked tentatively, "I heard that in ancient times, cultivators did not need Jade Liquid Pools to open their meridians. Does Friend Luo know why?"

"Ah, you even know this? You're not just boasting about reading Daoist texts," Luo Xiao was slightly surprised. He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and sighed, "This method uses the spiritual liquid from spiritual shells instead of the Jade Liquid Pool. I'm afraid Master Zhang wouldn't be willing to part with it."

Zhang Yan understood immediately, but this method was not about willingness. Even if he had a shell farm, it would be impossible.

Because out of a hundred spiritual shells, only one might contain spiritual liquid, and even then, it would be just a drop or two. He roughly calculated that to fill a pool with spiritual liquid, he would need at least three to four hundred million shells. This was an astronomical number, and even the most extravagant sects could not afford it, let alone him?

However, he did not believe that ancient cultivators all used this method to open their meridians.

If that were the case, the world's spiritual shells would have been exhausted long ago. So there must be another method, and Luo Xiao was not telling the truth.

He smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.

Luo Xiao, expecting to see Zhang Yan's discouraged look, found it uninteresting when his words did not scare Zhang Yan. He huffed and said, "I'll tell you. Where spiritual shells grow, there is a hollow cave a hundred feet below, where the Shell King resides. If you can absorb the true dew from the Shell King, even with a low-grade meridian-opening technique, you can achieve an upper-grade meridian opening!"

He glanced at Zhang Yan and added, "I've heard that this method is usually used by the direct disciples of the sect leaders."

Zhang Yan nodded, "Friend Luo must have some other request for telling me this. Please tell me what it is."

Luo Xiao stared into Zhang Yan's eyes and said solemnly, "I can take you there, and all the spiritual shells in the shell farm can be yours. But you must swear an oath that after opening your meridians, you will release me from the essence blood oath and restore my freedom."

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