Chapter 127: Chapter 126: Fiftieth Birthday (Congratulations in Silver!)_1
Six years later.
Jadeite Cliff.
"Uncle!"
As Wei Yixi entered the Little Cloud Rain Array, she looked at Fang Xi, who still appeared youthful, and for some reason, a blush bloomed on her face.
"Hmm, how is your Beast Controlling Skills progressing?"
Fang Xi stood up from a cross-legged position with the intent to provide guidance.
Ever since Hua Chanjuan’s death, Wei Yixi had no one to control her comings and goings, allowing her free access to Gemini West Peak.
However, her nature still favored quietude, usually only venturing as far as Jadeite Cliff.
Today, Wei Yixi, dressed in a lotus-colored embroidered jacket with a luminous forehead clasped by a jade hoop, seemed to have taken quite the effort with her appearance.
Hearing Fang Xi ask about her Beast Controlling Skills, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat downhearted as she patted the Spirit Beast Bag on her waist.
The Spirit Beast Bag, fashioned into a sachet, released a swarm of Jade Bees when gently patted, all buzzing around a queen bee.
"Uncle... look, I’ve nurtured the queen bee to a first-grade mid-quality. Not only that, I also broke through last night, and I am now at the Qi Refining sixth level..."
Wei Yixi bragged with a touch of excitement.
Seeing this, Lu Guo, who had just returned from tilling the land, felt a twinge of sourness in his heart.
He was only a few years older than Wei Yixi, and both had mid-grade Spiritual Roots.
Yet now, this young girl had caught up to his own cultivation level.
He, on the other hand, due to an injury to his foundation, faced the significant bottleneck between the middle and later stages of Qi Refining, and had made no breakthroughs for years.
"Not bad, not bad..."
Fang Xi whistled, and a cloud of cyan insects buzzed over, revealing a first-grade high-quality Cyan Flower Golden Beetle King from within!
The Golden Beetle King, upon seeing the White Jade Queen Bee, immediately assumed a confrontational stance. A swarm of Green Jade Beetles formed a pattern mimicking a ghastly face, brimming with veiled threats.
"Uncle... with such delicate and intricate control over the swarm, could it be you’ve completely contracted each demon insect?"
Wei Yixi’s eyes sparkled.
In her Beast Controlling Skills studies, there had been mention of such techniques.
"No, this is just a small application of Spirit Sense, let me teach you today..."
Fang Xi said with a smile and gave Wei Yixi some pointers on her Beast Controlling Skills before they both headed back to the courtyard, under the Peach Blossom Tree.
Splash!
In the pond, Daqing fish spit out a bubble trapping a plump Green Jade Carp inside.
"Seeing as you’ve come today, let me make you a dish of sauerkraut fish," Fang Xi said, drawing out an icy jade-like small knife to slice the Green Jade Carp into thin pieces, paired with sour cabbage soup, exuding an irresistibly delicious aroma.
After enjoying the fish, there were also fresh spiritual peaches for dessert.
"Mmm... Uncle’s cooking is always so delicious..."
While praising, Wei Yixi covertly reached out to grab the jade pot on the table and only stopped reluctantly after Fang Xi smacked her hand with chopsticks, "Uncle... I still want to drink the wine you brewed! Yixi isn’t a child anymore."
"Hehe..."
Fang Xi, tasting a ten-year-old batch of Peach Blossom Brew, did not pour a cup for Wei Yixi.
This girl was quite the drinker and if she got carried away, his wine cellar’s treasures wouldn’t be safe... Moreover, she tended to get wild when drunk...
As the two were having a good time, Widow Wang, now an old crone, walked in, "Master, Miss..."
"Aunt Wang!"
Wei Yixi greeted her politely with a nod.
"Speak up, what is it..."
Fang Xi held his cup of wine, sensing after seven peaceful years since the Silver Armored Demon incident, this tranquil life was about to be disrupted again.
"The Alliance has issued another conscription order, demanding Thirty Six Islands contribute personnel and resources, and they are also recruiting a large number of Individual Cultivators..."
Widow Wang reported, "Xiaohu came back saying, the Mo Family of Black Sand Island has already come to plead with the Island Master..."
Seven years prior, Ruan Xingling personally took the corpse of the eldest son of Kou family to the Thirty Six Island Alliance to lodge a complaint.
The outcome merely punished a few enforcement team Cultivators, before ’rewarding’ them with a stash of Spirit Stones that were offered for the ’Silver Armored Demon.’
Conversely, in the recent years, the conflict between the Thirty Six Island Alliance and the Zhong Family had become overt, with a full-blown war seemingly imminent at any moment.
As for the Mo Family of Black Sand Island?
It was naturally the main family that Mo Qinghe of Peach Blossom Island had gone back to rebuild, and he had called back various branches to return, managing to reestablish the Mo Family, albeit weaker, and gradually becoming a vassal of Peach Blossom Island.
With the addition of the friendly Feng Family, Peach Blossom Island was now a force to be reckoned within the Thirty Six Island Alliance.
However... The vast array of affairs might have also divided Ruan Xingling’s attention, resulting in her stalled cultivation breakthrough.
This most likely suited the interests of all parties involved, so Peach Blossom Island had been quite peaceful for the time being.
But now, things were different!
"We do reside within Peach Blossom Island, after all. I might not contribute manpower, but I can provide some material resources..."
After some thought, Fang Xi added to Wei Yixi, "There’s no need for you to contribute; I’d rather offer some private support to the Island Master, and that will suffice..."
"Uncle is the best..." Wei Yixi beamed sweetly, "But Uncle’s fiftieth birthday is coming up soon. What gift would you like? I should prepare something..."
Immortal Cultivators don’t usually pay much attention to birthdays, but turning fifty is still meaningful.
Especially now that Fang Xi, as the second strongest on the island and a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator, was being courted rather than scorned by those who were once envious. Leveraging his birthday, he might even collect a sizeable amount of Spirit Stones!
"Before I realized it, I’ve turned fifty..."
Fang Xi touched his smooth and supple face that even Wei Yixi was envious of and suddenly smiled, "It’s not really a special day, no need to invite a large number of guests. When the time comes, I’ll open a few jars of the twenty-year ’Peach Blossom Brew’ and have a drink with a few close friends, that’s all..."
...
Several months later.
In the underground cavern.
Fang Xi opened his eyes to reveal two inch-long green lights flickering uncertainly.
"After twenty-seven years of planting trees, this body of mine is also fifty years old... Finally, I’ve reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!"
The tenth level of Qi Refining is a special realm.
Once you break into this realm, you achieve the Great Perfection of Qi Refining! There’s a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment!
Fang Xi even felt that his magic power from ’Eternal Spring Skills’ could no longer advance; it had reached a certain limit of the Qi Refining Stage, and to break through again, his only option was to operate his cultivation technique to its fullest and charge at the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment!
With his body flawless in vitality and his Divine Consciousness extending up to thirty feet, even without taking Base-building Spiritual Objects or Foundation Establishment Pill, he had a thirty to forty percent chance of success!
This was already a probability many Individual Cultivators could only dream of.
Unfortunately, the consequences of failing Foundation Establishment, which could result in either death or injury, made Fang Xi give up on such impulsiveness.
"Foundation Establishment Pill! Once the Wood physique is achieved, I must schedule the Foundation Establishment Pill matter!"
Now, when Fang Xi looked inward, he could see that the silver runes of the Wood physique were mostly complete. In another decade or so, it should be accomplished!
"Today is truly a day for celebration!"
He came out of the Cultivation Room with a faint smile on his lips.
Before long, Widow Wang, Wang Xiaohu, Hai Dagui, Lu Guo, and others came to pay their respects reverentially: "Congratulations to the master on your fiftieth birthday, with hopes for Foundation Establishment and a long life on the Immortal Path!"
"Ha ha, take these!"
Fang Xi, laughing heartily, handed out a Spirit Stone Red Packet to each of them.
"Heehee, Wei Yixi specially comes to celebrate Uncle’s joyous fiftieth birthday!"
At this moment, Wei Yixi arrived, grinning broadly with a big red gift box in her hands.
Fang Xi took it and opened it to find a green robe inside. The surface shimmered, adorned with bamboo patterns, and when unfolded, it even emitted a strong spiritual light.
Wei Yixi said with a smile, "Uncle, this is the fine robe I specifically picked for you—the ’Green Bamboo Robe’. It has permanent arrays like ’Dust Repelling’, ’Protection’, and ’Gathering Spirit’, and it can even protect the wearer in times of danger!"
"A fine robe like this would cost around two hundred Spirit Stones in the market. You’re really thoughtful, Yixi."
Fang Xi was quite moved but accepted the robe nonetheless.
Under his guidance in Beast Controlling Skills, Wei Yixi’s proficiency in raising Jade Bees had greatly improved, and now with her own private Spirit Land, there was no need to purchase pills or rent a Dongfu... Accumulating day by day, she indeed had become quite wealthy.
"Uncle, hurry up and try it on!" Wei Yixi laughed.
"Hmm!"
Seeing Widow Wang and the others also urging him on, Fang Xi went into the inner room, changed into the Green Bamboo Robe, and re-emerged.
Everyone saw a youth as handsome as a pine tree, with eyebrows like stars and a transcendental air about him, perfectly complementing the Green Bamboo Robe, and they couldn’t help but cheer.
"Master, this garment suits you so well, the young lady has chosen well," Widow Wang said with a beaming smile.
"Indeed... Yixi is clever and dexterous, whoever marries you will be fortunate."
Fang Xi laughed heartily, "Such a joyful day today. Uncle will make an exception and let you have an extra cup of the twenty-year Peach Blossom Brew..."
"Is that really true?" Wei Yixi’s eyes sparkled, and just as she was about to say more, a woman’s voice came from outside: "Ruan Dan of Mirror Moon Lake, representing my teacher to wish Uncle Fang Xi longevity and prosperity, offers this congratulatory present!"
"Could it be her?!"
Fang Xi was slightly surprised; he waved to dispel the Array and saw a one-armed female Cultivator walking gracefully towards him—Ruan Dan!
She was dressed in a long black robe with a cold expression, and the sleeve on her right was empty and fluttering in the wind.
To everyone’s astonishment, her Cultivation level had impressively advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining!
"So it’s Ruan Sir! Congratulations on your Cultivation breakthrough!"
Fang Xi greeted her with a smile. Since the amputation of her arm, Ruan Dan’s sharpness had been reduced a lot, and she had become much colder and more solitary than she had been before.
The setbacks from being nearly assassinated, which delayed her cultivation progress, coupled with the lessons learned from having her path severed by the eldest son of the Kou family, must have finally prompted her to grow.
But the price she paid was indeed quite heavy!
On the other hand, Lu Guo, seeing that after several years of recuperation Ruan Dan could forge ahead and break through, seemed to ignite his own fighting spirit.
With a similarly damaged foundation, if Ruan Dan could break through the bottleneck between the middle and late stages of Qi Refining, why couldn’t he?
"Congratulations, Uncle Fang. This is the congratulatory gift my teacher has ordered me to present!"
Ruan Dan bowed and handed over a long, rectangular gift box.
Upon opening it, an aura of sharpness burst forth.
Fang Xi looked inside to see a long green sword laying quietly in the box, shaped like a grain leaf, slender in form, with a somewhat familiar style: "This is..."
"This is the ’Green Grain Sword’, reforged by my teacher, and has now been elevated to a fine artifact!" Ruan Dan answered respectfully.
Since her amputation, her edge had been more concealed, and even now at the seventh level of Qi Refining, she was not as haughty as in the past.
"Is this the famous Green Barley Sword that made Uncle Fang famous at Peach Blossom Island?" Wei Yixi’s eyes widened as she looked on as if admiring a legend.
This legend was closely related to her family, filling her with complex emotions.
"Island Master is thoughtful..."
Fang Xi, who was openly in need of a fine artifact, picked up the Green Grain Sword, plucked at it, and a sound like dragon chanting emerged!
On such a special occasion, for Ruan Xingling to reforge the sword, it was truly meaningful!