Excitement surged through Yuan for a brief moment before he took a steady breath, calming himself and forcing his mind to grow cold again.
Yes, the flame control technique would no doubt become useful in the future,especially during his Marrow Essence cultivation.
But even then… it would never compare to the techniques he had inherited from the Basilisk.
In comparison, this technique was like earth to heaven,so far apart they couldn't even be spoken of in the same breath.
Though Yuan couldn't cultivate the Azure Flame Arts that Basilisk had once used as his core cultivation technique, he still retained knowledge of countless others.
After all, to create a unique technique like the Azure Flame Arts, the Basilisk had first studied and analyzed countless paths,drawing inspiration from other systems and refining what was useful.
Through that pursuit, Basilisk had come across many techniques specifically designed for body and spirit cultivation. The only area in which his knowledge was limited was soul cultivation.
And for a reason.
The Azure Dragon Clan, as they were enemies with Basilisk, had restricted his access to soul cultivation techniques. They had allowed him to take only one technique from their collection and it hadn't been their best. Far from it. It was average at best, and that limitation had been one of the main reasons the Basilisk had taken so long to develop the Azure Flame Arts.
Now, those same techniques,stored deep within Yuan's memory,would become useful.
Yuan had already selected two of them. They were powerful and tailored for high level refinement, but both required a minimum of the Bone Forging Stage to cultivate.
That was the truth of high tier techniques. The stronger they were, the more demanding their prerequisites. Only the weaker, more basic cultivation methods could be practiced at the Meridian Awakening Stage and almost none were possible cultivating at the Blood Purification Stage.
Even though the techniques available to a Meridian Awakening cultivator were weaker compared to those of higher stages, they were still valuable. Yuan had already laid out a clear path for his cultivation during the Meridian Awakening Stage.
In ancient times, it had another name,the Transcended Mortal Stage.
It was called so because it marked the true beginning of a cultivator's journey beyond the limits of mortals. At this stage, one could fully harness the power of spiritual blood.
No matter how strong a mortal was, they would never be able to kill a Meridian Awakening cultivator. Only another cultivator could pose a threat from that point on.
But Yuan's thoughts on cultivation came to an end as he suddenly sensed something.
He stood up, calmly but swiftly, and placed everything around him back into his bag of holding. Then, with a motion of his hand, he unsealed the entrance to his cultivation cave.
Stepping outside, Yuan walked silently through the quiet outer disciple area, making his way toward the very edge of the sect grounds.
There, standing alone, was a small wooden hut,humble and weathered, typically used by unofficial outer disciples. Right now, it was empty. No light glowed from within. Only darkness lingered inside.
Yuan leapt silently into the branches of a nearby tree, concealing himself in the foliage as he observed the hut below.
Minutes passed.
Then, a lone figure emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Ming Ze,he stepped quietly through the trees and made his way toward the wooden hut.
He then opened the wooden door, stepped inside, and lit a candle,only to blow it out and relight it again. He repeated the process three times.
This was one of Yuan's prearranged signals.
Lighting the candle three times meant everything was ready.
With a soundless step, Yuan arrived in front of the wooden door. In the next second, he was already inside the wooden hut. The only sound that accompanied his entrance was the faint creak of the door as it opened.
The hut was simple,just a small bed, a table, and two chairs. Nothing more. It was clearly the dwelling of an unofficial outer disciple.
Ming Ze, who had been waiting inside, smiled as soon as he saw Yuan enter. The tea was already prepared and set out for both of them.
Yuan glanced at the table, then moved to the empty chair. With a graceful, measured motion, he sat down in silence.
Ming Ze followed suit, and without a word, took a slow sip of the warm spiritual tea.
Seeing Yuan drink the tea, Ming Ze beamed with a smile and greeted him cheerfully.
"Greetings, Boss. It's been a while. Would you like me to update you on everything that's happened since we last met?"
Hearing Ming Ze's words, Yuan gave a faint smile, his eyes drifting down to the cup of spiritual tea in front of him. He lifted the cup with one hand and brought it close, taking a moment to appreciate the aroma.
Even just the scent revealed much,Ming Ze had clearly improved.
Yuan took a slow sip, savoring the taste, then set the cup back on the table and gave a small nod.
That was all Ming Ze needed.
He chuckled, familiar with Yuan's quiet nature, and his smile grew brighter.
"Boss, ever since the day you left, I've been working hard. First, I recruited a few outer disciples and trained them in tea making. Surprisingly, I found a handful who could meet even my lowest standards,at least when it comes to brewing decent mortal tea."
He sat up straighter, pride slipping into his voice.
"With that, I finally had time to focus on my own cultivation and I've broken through to the Blood Purification Stage!"
Yuan wasn't surprised. The improvement in Ming Ze's tea was proof enough that his cultivation had advanced. But what truly caught his attention was that Ming Ze had found outer sect disciples capable of meeting his strict standards, even if just at the lowest level.
Impressive. The Howling Wind Sect really does have a few talented alchemists hiding in the outer ranks, Yuan thought with satisfaction.
This meant Ming Ze could begin walking the alchemist's path more seriously,refining not just tea, but real pills. If nurtured well, he could one day sell those pills to disciples or even higher staged cultivators.
Yuan gave another approving nod.
And just from that, Ming Ze lit up like a lantern.
"Other than that," Ming Ze continued, "the tea house has become more of a regular spot for inner sect disciples and high ranking outer sect disciples. The tea I make has proven to be more effective than the usual cultivation pills they rely on, so I've managed to form a few connections with several clans and families. While none of them are from the major clans, they still hold respectable positions within the sect's social hierarchy."
He paused to take a small sip from his cup, letting out a soft sigh before continuing.
"But… as we started rising in wealth and status, other outer and even some inner disciples began copying our tea house. Although their tea is nowhere near as refined as mine, a few of them managed to produce brews that can compete with what my staff makes. Because of that, we've lost some customers."
Ming Ze's voice dipped slightly.
"Not too many inner sect disciples, thankfully,but a few did leave. It's definitely impacted our merit point income."
Yuan raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. He hadn't expected that kind of competition to form so soon. While not overly concerned, he understood the importance of stamping out such threats early.
Opening a tea house that produced spiritual tea required a large amount of herb resources,something most couldn't sustain for long.
Still, allowing imitators to grow unchecked could cause problems down the line.
He gave Ming Ze a slight nod, silently signaling for him to continue.
Ming Ze brightened again.
"Besides that, a few inner sect disciples became loyal customers. Some even paid generously and earned us a lot of merit points. If I compare myself with the other outer sect disciples now, I'd say I'm probably among the top five wealthiest. My current wealth could rival that of an average inner sect disciple."
He chuckled before leaning back slightly.
"But with that wealth came a bit of trouble. A few jealous disciples tried to cause problems,especially some of the outer sect troublemakers. I'm no fighter, so I reached out to one of the inner sect disciples I'd made a deal with. After offering him a monthly big discount on some of our high grade spiritual tea, he agreed to support us."
Ming Ze's grin widened.
"Thanks to him acting as our backer, most of the outer sect troublemakers stopped bothering us. Haha! That one deal saved us a lot of time and headaches!"
Ming Ze continued, speaking about several other deals he had made with inner sect disciples, as well as the trouble he encountered with a faction that didn't approve of the young master he had made a deal with.
There had been tension, but eventually, they had managed to come to an agreement and resolve the issue. That, in short, was what had happened over the last four months regarding the tea house and its growth.
Yuan found himself a little surprised by how well Ming Ze had handled everything.
Without strength, money was the only true power in the cultivation world,especially when it came to resolving conflicts with minimal bloodshed. And Ming Ze had done just that. For the mere cost of a few monthly discounts, he had secured protection, expanded his influence, and avoided countless problems.
Of course, making deals like that would inevitably create enemies.
But then again, what successful business didn't have enemies?
Only unsuccessful ones.
Yuan let out a quiet chuckle of amusement at the thought.
He nodded with approval and said, "You've handled the situation perfectly. I can't think of anything you could have done better. Once you've told me the rest of your report, I'll give you a truly good reward for all your efforts."
The moment the word reward left Yuan's mouth and not just any reward, but a truly good one!Ming Ze's eyes lit up with greedy excitement. He immediately stood up and bowed deeply, holding his cup of tea with both hands in a salute.
"Thank you, Boss, for your generosity!"
Yuan just chuckled softly at the reaction, giving him a silent nod before taking another sip of tea.