Chapter 128: Chapter 33: Soul-Shocking Bell

“Who would you say is the most numerous group of people in the Five Elements True Spirit Sect?”

Yang Jing asked.

“The Outer Disciples, of course.”

Ji Feng replied with almost no hesitation.

“Wrong. It’s the miscellaneous workers.”

Yang Jing shook his head.

The miscellaneous workers wore short, gray robes. Although numerous, they had virtually no presence within the Five Elements True Spirit Sect.

The Five Elements True Spirit Sect’s production of Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicine was unmatched in the entire Western Province. Under the cover of the Sect’s Grand Array, the weather was perfect year after year. Even the areas with the worst Spiritual Qi were at Tier Two Lower Grade. The yield of Spirit Rice from each acre of Spirit Field was more than three times that of an ordinary spirit field.

With so many Spirit Fields and Medicinal Gardens, even if all the Outer Disciples were put to work farming, they wouldn’t be able to manage it all.

Therefore, the entire Five Elements True Spirit Sect had more than eight hundred thousand miscellaneous workers who, under the management of the Household Affairs Hall, cultivated and nurtured the Low Tier Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicine.

This was a major source of income for the Five Elements True Spirit Sect.

The income of these miscellaneous workers was slightly better than that of ordinary Independent Cultivators. Depending on their skills, their annual income ranged from twenty to over a hundred Spirit Stones.

Some miscellaneous worker families had even tilled Spirit Fields for the Five Elements True Spirit Sect for generations, successfully helping their descendants join the Outer Sect.

“These miscellaneous workers aren’t like Outer Disciples. They have no need for High Tier Magical Artifacts for Magical Combat. The only things they have to deal with are the Demon Insects, Demon Rats, Demon Snakes, and Demon Birds that eat the Spirit Rice and Spirit Plants in the fields. Naturally, there are no High Tier Demons within the Sect. These pests are mostly creatures that underwent Demon Transformation after living in a high Spiritual Qi environment. Their Power is feeble.”

Yang Jing had taken a stroll through the Grass Market and noticed quite a few miscellaneous workers there, mostly purchasing Low Tier Talisman Paper and Magical Artifacts.

Because the miscellaneous workers couldn’t freely enter and exit the Sect like Outer Disciples, these Low Tier Talisman Papers and Magical Artifacts were all brought in from outside the Sect by a few Outer Disciples using Storage Bags. The cheaper ones were thirty percent more expensive than outside the Sect, while the pricier ones were even double the price.

This was a blue ocean.

“Ah, Ji Feng, the first Magical Artifact you’re going to refine is the Soul-Shocking Bell.”

The Soul-Shocking Bell barely qualified as a Tier One Lower Grade Magical Artifact. The materials only required a small amount of Iron Essence and the inscription of three Restrictions, making it only slightly more complex than the Demon-Slaying Sword. This Magical Artifact was extremely obscure, used by some low-talent Independent Cultivators to swindle mortals.

When activated with Magical Power, the Soul-Shocking Bell could emit a faint Soul-Shocking Sound. It had little effect even on mortals born with strong Divine Souls, let alone Cultivators. But to those Demon Insects with weak Divine Souls, it was extremely lethal. Shaking it for just a short while was often enough to kill most of the Demon Insects in a Spirit Field.

It was players from the Nine Heavens World who, by a stroke of luck, discovered that this Magical Artifact was incredibly effective for pest control.

For those miscellaneous workers with feeble Magical Power, even using a Tier One Lower Grade Magical Artifact for pest control was very inconvenient. First, it consumed a great deal of Magical Power, so they couldn’t sustain it for long. Second, it was easy to accidentally harm the Spirit Rice and Spirit Plants, making it not worth the trouble. But using the same amount of Magical Power to activate a Soul-Shocking Bell, one could easily keep it going for half a day.

Yang Jing explained to Ji Feng why he had chosen such an unremarkable Magical Artifact like the Soul-Shocking Bell.

Ji Feng’s eyes widened. He had never imagined that the Magical Artifact business could be done like this.

“A single Soul-Shocking Bell costs only one tael of Iron Essence and a little Spiritual Ink to inscribe the Restrictions. The total cost is less than eight spirit essence. I’ll sell it for thirty Spirit Stones. That’s not too much, is it? The Five Elements True Spirit Sect has over eight hundred thousand miscellaneous workers. If just one thousand of them buy a Soul-Shocking Bell, and I give you a fifteen percent cut, won’t that be several thousand Spirit Stones?”

Yang Jing picked up his cup and took a sip of Spirit Tea.

Although he had long forgotten the specific Refining Technique for the Soul-Shocking Bell, there was no real secret to its construction. It was nothing more than one Restriction to convert Magical Power, one to generate the Soul-Shocking Sound, and one to control the sound’s direction and range.

With his and Iron Head’s skill in Arrays, they could design it with ease. The biggest challenge was how to implement anti-theft measures to prevent the bell’s Refining Technique from being figured out at a glance.

Ji Feng counted on his fingers and realized he really could earn so many Spirit Stones this easily. His eyes went wide.

As Class A Disciples, their monthly stipend was fifty Spirit Stones, plus one Five Elements Pill, two taels of Spirit Tea, and one bottle of Spirit Wine. Converted into Spirit Stones, their annual income was about a thousand Spirit Stones. While that was a considerable amount, it was nothing compared to the profits Yang Jing was talking about.

Ji Feng, in particular, was planning to save up Spirit Stones to purchase cultivation resources for the newborn Five-Colored Kun Chickens in his clan, so he needed Spirit Stones more than the other Class A Disciples.

Nearby, Yinjiao wore a pitying expression. ’This stupid chicken loses all composure at the mention of profit, completely failing to notice that he’ll have to refine thousands of these Soul-Shocking Bells.’

Ji Feng didn’t notice the expression on the white dog’s face at all.

With such a large sum of Spirit Stones at stake, he grew even more worried about Yang Jing’s situation, afraid that Huan Qingwen would cause trouble for the business.

“Huan Qingwen’s clan sister, Senior Aunt Huan Qingshuang, is the Chief Steward of the Sect’s Firework Hall. An elder from my clan works under her. I can definitely mediate things so that you don’t make an enemy of them.”

Yang Jing took a sip of Spirit Tea.

“There’s no need for that. I’ll handle it myself. This isn’t a business of a few thousand Spirit Stones. We’re talking tens of thousands at a minimum, maybe even hundreds of thousands. If we have to negotiate with Senior Aunt Huan Qingshuang, how much of the profit will we have to give away? If we have to negotiate every time someone comes knocking, then we might as well give up on this Artifact Refining business altogether.”

Ji Feng didn’t yet know that his identity had been exposed. The moment Yang Jing heard his words, he knew that Ji Feng’s elder had clearly signed a Spirit Contract with Huan Qingshuang. The fact that he was able to achieve Transformation and join Class A was likely thanks to Huan Qingshuang’s considerable help. No wonder Huan Qingwen acted as if Ji Feng was his private property.

Yang Jing said this deliberately to plant a thorn in Ji Feng’s heart.

’Poaching someone? He was the best at it.’

Ji Feng hesitated.

“Senior Aunt Huan Qingshuang has always treated me very well. She wouldn’t do something like that.”

“As the Chief Steward of the Firework Hall, Senior Aunt Huan Qingshuang must be an expert in the Artifact Refining Skill. Yet the Artifact Refining Technique you’re learning is from that outdated Celestial Craftsmanship Book. It doesn’t seem to me like she treats you all that well.”

Yang Jing said, narrowing his eyes, his words like a sharp blade piercing Ji Feng’s heart.

Ji Feng looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. He stood with his mouth agape, speechless for a long time.

Yang Jing sighed, playing hard to get.

“Alas, Junior Brother Ji, if you’re not willing to listen to me, we can just forget about this partnership. I’ll find someone else.”

Ji Feng shuddered and hastily said:

“Senior Brother Yang, I’ll listen to you! I’ll listen to whatever you say!”

“Good. Tomorrow, I will give you the blueprints and Restriction designs for the Soul-Shocking Bell. At that time, you’ll have to swear a Dao Heart oath not to leak them.”

Yang Jing’s tone was serious.

Ji Feng nodded repeatedly. The Five-Colored Kun Chicken clan was impoverished within the Five Elements True Spirit Sect, and he was determined to latch onto Senior Brother Yang’s coattails and hold on tight.

After Ji Feng left, Yinjiao shook his head. ’Poor, silly chicken,’ he thought, ’being played like a fiddle by Master.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep