After two hours, Song Jiuan, who had accompanied Xia Zhi Lan away, quietly returned to the manor, concealing his tracks.
Ji Yuan, who had already received a telepathic message from the other party, was waiting in his courtyard.
"Who exactly is this Xia Zhi Lan?" he asked directly as soon as the other party appeared.
Even if he was just an elder of a sect, and his elders were high-ranking officials within the sect, he shouldn't be so outrageously wealthy.
Moreover, given his age, his elders should have passed away long ago unless they had advanced to the Golden Core realm.
"He is not from Feiyun County but hails from Tianhe County," Song Jiuan said after a moment of thought. "His father is a mighty being."
As his words fell, even Ji Yuan couldn't help but fall silent. At this moment, he finally understood why the other party could be so extravagant.
Tianhe County... If he remembered correctly, the only place in Tianhe County with a mighty being presiding over it was a powerful sect. Furthermore, this sect was most adept at accumulating wealth. Its inherited techniques possessed the ability to train and tame beasts. All the flying creatures in Lingyang Prefecture originated from this place. In addition, the majority of spirit beast transactions in Lingyang Prefecture were rooted in this sect. While it couldn't be said to be as wealthy as a nation, at least within a prefecture, no one could rival it in terms of financial strength.
"This person was previously traveling to seek opportunities to break through bottlenecks. Due to the conflict between the Rebirth Tower and the rebel army at the border of the two counties, he was unable to return for a time," Song Jiuan slowly explained. Due to his lazy disposition, he was unwilling to take a detour, so he simply settled in the county town of Feiyun County. It was during this period that the two became acquainted and familiar, forging a deep friendship. Song Jiuan was able to purchase so many elixirs largely thanks to this person's immense wealth, having acquired many precious talismans from him.
"It's a pity that my proficiency in talisman crafting is limited. I need to focus on cultivation most of the time," Song Jiuan sighed. Otherwise, he could have connected with Xia Zhi Lan and his sect through him, consistently supplying them with a large quantity of talismans. His offensive talismans were extremely famous throughout Lingyang Prefecture, often being in high demand with limited supply.
"Have you never considered taking in more disciples and passing down the art of talisman crafting?" Ji Yuan inquired curiously. This way, talismans could be produced consistently and in large quantities, which would also be a good way to accumulate wealth. Among the four cultivation paths, the Dao of Alchemy was the most affluent, followed by the Dao of Talismans and the Dao of Artifacts, with the Dao of Formations ranking last. The former two were consumables and needed by every cultivator, so their value was self-evident. While the latter two could also generate substantial wealth, magical artifacts, magical treasures, and various formations could generally be reused for a long time, thus their sales were somewhat inferior.
"It's easier said than done. Setting aside external factors, the intricacies involved are already very complex," Song Jiuan shook his head. "Moreover, how to maintain loyalty is also a problem that cannot be ignored." He couldn't possibly teach a group of disciples only for them to run off to other factions afterward. Such situations were not uncommon and could arise with little warning. Not to mention that such actions would be equivalent to snatching business from others. Factions that had been operating for many years would not easily allow anyone to dilute their profits. Once Song Jiuan attempted to do so, he would inevitably face attacks from various forces, which was one of the very important reasons why he had not taken in disciples over the years.
However, after understanding the situation, Ji Yuan developed some ideas, though achieving them would require careful planning for now. In the following time, the two engaged in a heated discussion about how the Song family would join the Xuantianguan sect and the various details involved. It had to be said that Song Jiuan, who had managed to become a master of the Dao of Talismans, successfully condensed a Golden Core, and accumulated a vast fortune, indeed possessed exceptional foresight and ability. Fortunately, Ji Yuan was no ordinary person and held absolute advantages and initiative, so the discussion did not put him at a disadvantage.
Unknowingly, more than a year had passed. Less than twenty years remained until the thirty-year deadline. Ji Yuan's cultivation realm was steadily improving, and the influence of Xuantian Peak, Xuantianguan sect, and the Xiaoyuan Mountain Water God Temple was also quietly and rapidly expanding. In a year and a half, many events had occurred in Feiyun County. Among them, another cultivator at the third realm successfully broke through their current bottleneck and condensed a Golden Core with the help of Ji Yuan's elixirs. As a result, various factions that had previously harbored reservations nearly surrounded the manor where Ji Yuan and the others resided.
However, this situation eased somewhat after the Mingxinxuan shop began to regularly offer three types of elixirs. Despite this, a large number of cultivators still gathered outside the manor daily, with their respective factions all wanting to visit the alchemist. Ji Yuan ignored them and, in addition to his own cultivation, made various arrangements for his subordinates. With the help of the recruited personnel, the trade routes opened by Mingxinxuan gradually stabilized. Led by disciples of Xuantian Peak, and with the method of offering incense and the power of faith to connect with the divine, there was no need to worry about these people causing major problems.
Furthermore, with sufficient financial support, Li Buwei had indeed acquired a considerable number of properties, including countless spirit fields, numerous orchards, and medicinal gardens. These places, with proper management, could yield significant wealth annually, enough to support everyone in Xuantianguan sect. The Water God Temple, after spreading to all five counties, gradually shifted its focus to other surrounding counties. With the disciples of Xuantianguan sect paving the way, and the assistance of Zhang Qingyang and Wu Tieshan, the construction of temples proceeded smoothly. Coupled with the vast power of faith regularly offered by the numerous cultivators in the sect and the worship of the common people in the five counties, Ji Yuan's divine incarnation's cultivation realm was also rapidly increasing. The Golden Body, which was originally expected to take several years to fully shape, was perfectly completed in the previous two months.
"Impossible!" one day, a year and a half later, Ji Yuan slammed the table in anger. He looked at Xia Zhi Lan and, disregarding his status as a newly advanced Golden Core mighty cultivator, declared resolutely, "There are only five Divine Guan Tianxin Pills! And only three sets of Nine Dragon Yunling Pills can be provided!"
"There aren't that many Five Qi Yangyuan Pills either; at most, I can only produce thirty!"
"As for the Xuantian Chenglu Pills, for cultivators of the first and second realms, there are only three hundred in total!"
"For those who can satisfy cultivators of the third realm, I can only provide fifty at most!"
His resolute attitude made both Song Jiuan and Xia Zhi Lan feel uneasy. The situation was actually quite simple. Xia Zhi Lan, who had initially stabilized his realm and was preparing to return to Tianhe County, wanted to bring some local specialties back home. The elixirs refined by Ji Yuan and the high-quality talismans of Song Jiuan became his preferred choices. However, Song Jiuan was relatively fine. The talismans he usually crafted had limited sales in the county town. After all, there were quite a few factions in and around the county town engaged in similar businesses.