Chapter 107: Chapter 106: The Art of Pill Refining (Congratulation to the Silver Alliance!)_1 Chapter 107: Chapter 106: The Art of Pill Refining (Congratulation to the Silver Alliance!)_1 “Planting trees within the dantian, all for the sake of long life…”
Within the underground cavern.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged under the Monster Tree, with a Qi Root connecting his back to the canopy.
With the daily transfer of pure primordial energy, his physique became increasingly vibrant.
Even the progress of cultivating the ‘Longevity Skills’ was advancing by leaps and bounds.
Now, when he examined his body with his Spirit Sense, he could see an almost imperceptible network of green, spreading from the Dantian Qi Ocean towards his veins, bones, and flesh…
This was the process of constructing the ‘Green Wood Spiritual Body’!
“In a few more years, I should be able to fully cultivate the ‘Green Wood Spiritual Body’, right?”
Fang Xi opened his eyes, and two flashes of green light darted through his pupils.
Once the ‘Green Wood Spiritual Body’ was achieved, his low-grade Wooden Spirit Root aptitude would be comparable to those geniuses with high-grade Spiritual Roots.
But Fang Xi’s ambition didn’t stop there!
He aimed to at least cultivate the ‘Yi Wood Magic Body’!
Such a Spirit Body was mentioned only in snippets of rumors within the Cultivation World, but what was certain is that a cultivator who possessed this Spirit Body, as long as they did not perish prematurely, almost always became Nascent Soul Great Powers!
Given the growth rate of the Monster Tree, spending decades to condense the ‘Yi Wood Magic Body’ was not an impossibility!
After daily cultivation, Fang Xi routinely inspected the Spiritual Field.
“Woo woo!”
On a ridge in the field, a small bare-bottomed brat was running around cheerily, followed by a tiger toy plodding along at a slow pace.
“Xiao Hu, where did this tiger puppet beast come from?”
Fang Xi stopped and casually asked.
“Me mom just came back from Ling Kong market, she bought it fer me.”
Xiao Hu sniffled his nose and giggled his answer.
“Well, go on and play!”
Fang Xi patted Xiao Hu’s head, feeling somewhat frustrated: ‘Damn it, I’ve looked for so many years and haven’t seen a shadow of any puppet skill… and now, after starting to plant trees, a Puppet Master’s creation appears in Ling Kong market? Is the universe playing with me?’
‘Forget it, life is full of uncertainties, I need to maintain a sense of equanimity, equanimity…’
He cautioned himself silently.
It’s just a legacy of puppet skill, right? If I live long enough, it will come my way eventually.
“Master!”
On the way to Widow Wang’s wooden hut, Widow Wang came out to greet him with a beaming smile: “That Ling Kong market is so big and beautiful, and the spiritual energy is so plentiful… I also specifically bought a packet of Spiritual Tea for the master, thinking of delivering it to you!”
“Hmm, thanks a lot.”
Spiritual Tea was not worth a single Spirit Stone, but at least it was the thought that counted.
If Fang Xi did not accept it, Widow Wang would worry.
Seeing him graciously accept it, Widow Wang’s smile grew even brighter: “I also went to see the shop that the Island Master has at Ling Kong market, called ‘Fire Refining Pavilion’, and the big steward there is Mu Wen!”
Fang Xi wasn’t much surprised by this result.
After all, Feng Man Building really had no desire to compete with Mu Wen.
And Mu Wen was determined; he actually mortgaged several mu of his family’s Spiritual Field, borrowed a massive amount of Spirit Stones, and managed to sway opinions through bribes.
Coupled with Feng Man Building stepping back voluntarily, Ruan Xingling couldn’t say much, and had to give the position to him.
“… I think the Dragon Fish Zhong Family has accepted this, after all, if we, the Thirty Six Islands, really unite together, the number of Qi Refining late-stage cultivators is at least double that of Zhong Family… Forming a joint enforcement team, the vicinity of the islands is particularly safe, I didn’t encounter any cultivation-robbers at all on my way…”
Widow Wang was somewhat envious: “I think this time the Mu Family head has bet right and is going to make a big fortune…”
“That… would be a good thing too!”
Fang Xi smiled slightly.
No matter why the Zhong Family backed off, it’s always good to avoid conflict.
He needed a peaceful and stable environment here for tree cultivation.
As for Mu Wen’s petty triumph? Let him have his moment. A brief surge of success doesn’t mean much.
A hundred years from now, we’ll see if he’s still around!
“Aunt Wang!”
Just then, another person arrived at Widow Wang’s house—it was Lu Guo!
On seeing Fang Xi, he shuddered out of habit and then paid his respects:
“Master!”
“Hmm.”
Fang Xi nodded his head, noticing that the young man had actually managed to draw Qi into his body, becoming a first-level Qi Refining cultivator!
‘Well deserved for someone with a mid-grade Spiritual Root; just a few months?’
‘How long did the original body take to advance to the first level of Qi Refining? A year? Or two years?’
‘Forget it… equanimity, equanimity!’
He forcibly restrained a twitch at the corner of his eye, walked away without disturbing Widow Wang and Lu Guo’s conversation.
It didn’t take long for him to see Lu Guo leave Widow Wang’s house, holding a small wooden knife in his hand.
After injecting a wisp of magic power, the wooden knife actually floated mid-air!
‘A low-grade magical instrument?’
‘No… not a magical instrument but a trivial little toy, probably worth a few Spirit Crystals…’
Fang Xi recognized at a glance; such trinkets were just like Xiao Hu’s puppet beast, lacking any real lethality, purely toys for children.
Even so, Lu Guo cherished the wooden knife, carefully wiping it down and solemnly tucking it at his waist.
“It seems… it’s also time to impart the later stages of the Eternal Spring Skills.”
Upon seeing this scene, Fang Xi immediately became thoughtful.
The qualifications of a middle-grade Spiritual Root are indeed much better than those of a lower-grade one.
Plus, having cultivated in the Spirit Land from a young age, the possibility of breaking through the later stages of Qi Refining is still there.
I just don’t know what Ruan Xingling is really up to.
…
Summer passes and autumn comes.
In the blink of an eye, another year end approaches.
Fang Xi inspected those five acres of Spiritual Field, then did a sixty-forty split with Widow Wang, ensuring she had a prosperous year.
In contrast, Lu Guo appeared rather deserted, and he was still living in a wooden shed.
One day amidst a riot of blooming flowers, Ruan Xingling’s magic tool landed within the Little Cloud Rain Array.
“The Island Master graces us with her presence, which brightens up this humble abode!”
Fang Xi came out to greet her, smiling, “I’ve already prepared the ‘Green Bamboo Wine’, and I hope the Island Master will honor me with a drink.”
“Hmm!”
Ruan Xingling joined Fang Xi under the Peach Blossom Tree and opened a bottle of Green Bamboo Wine.
For some reason, Ruan Xingling just liked this particular drink.
Fang Xi, on the other hand, had eclectic tastes, able to enjoy Green Bamboo Wine and Red Blood Wine, and he recently even brewed a batch of Peach Blossom Wine.
This wine, with its fragrance of peach blossoms, was very popular among some female cultivators.
But for some reason, Ruan Xingling still favored the Green Bamboo Wine.
“Lu Guo has reached the first layer of Qi Refining, and I think he may advance to the second layer by next year…”
Fang Xi poured a cup of wine for Ruan Xingling and said softly.
“A middle-grade Spiritual Root is indeed not bad, although still somewhat inferior to Dan’er.”
Ruan Xingling’s expression was indifferent, showing neither joy nor anger, instead she began to show concern for Fang Xi, “You are now twenty-eight years old and at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. If you can break through the later stages of Qi Refining within a few years, there is hope for Foundation Establishment in the future!”
“The Island Master jests…”
Fang Xi’s face was filled with bitterness, “I’ve just entered the sixth layer, just the accumulation and refinement of magic power alone could take several years. Without five or six years of cultivation, I cannot reach perfect mastery of the sixth layer, not to mention the major bottleneck of the latter stage… If I can break through the later stages of Qi Refining before the age of forty, that will be enough for me to be thankful for heaven and earth.”
“The bottleneck from the intermediate to the later stages of Qi Refining is indeed very troublesome…”
Ruan Xingling thought about the Feng and Mo Families; when their Qi Refining later stage patriarchs died, they indeed faced chaos for a while.
It was only after her intervention and support… and the significant depletion of family resources to purchase two breakthrough pills from the market, that they were able to successfully cultivate two Qi Refining later stage family members, stabilizing the situation.
For individual cultivators, who can’t even afford pills to enhance their magic power on a regular basis, how can they think of buying breakthrough pills?
“Here, your Spirit Rice harvest is almost guaranteed every year, barring insect damage. After a few more years of saving, if you auction it at the market for a breakthrough pill, there should be no problem…”
Ruan Xingling seemed to be sincerely planning for Fang Xi.
With the produce from these ten-plus acres of Spiritual Fields as his cultivation resources, Fang Xi still has the possibility of striking at the later stages of Qi Refining.
Even if the output is not enough, mortgaging a few acres of the Spiritual Field, just like Mu Wen cutting off the chicken’s head to get the eggs, should be more than sufficient!
“Sigh…”
When this topic came up, Fang Xi let out a long sigh, full of melancholy, “Actually, there is not much Spirit Rice left in my grain storage.”
“Hmm?”
Ruan Xingling was surprised, “Could it be that you used it all to brew wine?”
“Not at all, not at all!!”
With a bitter smile, Fang Xi led Ruan Xingling to the newly established Alchemy room.
This room was specifically set up for the purpose of practicing the art of alchemy. The room was filled with the scent of medicine, and in the corner were piled up large amounts of Spiritual Trees and spiritual charcoal.
In the center of the room, there stood a three-legged, twin-eared Purple Copper Pill Furnace with the quality of a lower-grade magic tool!
“You… are delving into the art of alchemy?”
Ruan Xingling’s eyes sparkled, “Have you made any progress?”
“Nowadays, if I refine Avoiding Grain Pills, I can barely break even… everything else results in a loss!”
Fang Xi replied without any expression, “To study alchemy is to impoverish three generations, and the pursuit of arrays can ruin a life; I’ve come to realize this…”
“Sigh…”
There are countless cultivators able to refine Avoiding Grain Pills, making it impossible to earn Spirit Stones with them.
Ruan Xingling looked at the pill furnace and Spirit Medicine… and knew the consumption must have been huge.
She found it quite unreasonable that Fang Xi spent Spirit Rice on buying Spirit Medicine for practice, “The art of alchemy is profound and vast; when one discovers a lack of talent, they should cut their losses immediately. How can you continue like this?”
In fact, all these materials and waste pills had been purchased by Fang Xi using other Spirit Stones.
His main source of income was always from Monster materials, not the cultivation of Spirit Rice.
Having the Alchemy room here was simply to create a pretext for consuming Spirit Rice.
Now it seemed that Ruan Xingling had taken the bait.
“Sigh… With my poor talent, I just thought that if I could refine pills, I could earn resources… and then I invested too much, not willing to let go, so I had to keep investing…”
Fang Xi feigned the look of one driven to madness by pill refinement.
“You…”
Ruan Xingling shook her head repeatedly, “Fortunately, you haven’t neglected your cultivation. If you stop alchemy now and focus on cultivation while saving Spirit Rice… and you aim to make another effort later, it’s still not certain that you can’t accumulate enough resources to break through the later stages of Qi Refining before the age of forty.”
“This… I only wish to cultivate to the later stages of Qi Refining peacefully and steadily. As for the deadline of forty? If I succeed, I will be content, and if I fail, it is simply my fate!”
Fang Xi sighed and downed the Green Bamboo Wine in one gulp, “Cultivator Families pursue the later stages of Qi Refining before the age of forty merely to vie for a chance to establish the foundation. I’ve already let go of my obsession with establishing a foundation. It wouldn’t be bad to smooth out the bottleneck peacefully… After all, I’m prepared to live out my life peacefully on Peach Blossom Island, tending to fields and raising fish…”
At Fang Xi’s indifferent attitude, Ruan Xingling was at a loss for words.