Chapter 156: Chapter 155 Kill and Grab the Treasure (Congratulation to the God. Alliance Head!)_1
Several months later.
"Zhang Xiaoyou, this is the ’Purple Wood Pill’..."
Peach Blossom Pavilion.
Fang Xi handed a bottle of pills to an elderly cultivator dressed in a green robe.
"Thank you, Senior Fang!"
The elderly cultivator had already reached the full circle of the Qi Refining Stage and was the head of a small Qi Refining Family attached to Baize Immortal City. The Purple Wood Pill was requested for a younger family member with promising talent.
In passing... it also served to foster a relationship with this Foundation Establishment senior.
The two had a pleasant conversation, and it wasn’t until Jin Ling came in to report another visitor that the head of the Zhang Family stood up to take his leave.
"Being a pill maker really pays off..."
With a sweep of his Divine Consciousness, Fang Xi counted the Spirit Stones left by the other party, revealing a satisfied smile.
This time, he not only earned a good sum of Spirit Stones but also acquired the pill recipe for the Purple Wood Pill!
While pills like the Purple Wood Pill for the Qi Refining Stage breakthrough are precious, after all, this is Baize Immortal City where one could find them after a thorough search in the major shops.
’This person deliberately sought me out for pill making, which means they had the intention of forming a connection...’ Fang Xi mused.
’Not bad, not bad... it’s just a pity that I would absolutely not leave the city to serve as a Supreme Elder for a minor family or sect...’
Fang Xi picked up a white jade cup and took a sip of Peach Blossom Brew, just as Jin Ling led someone else in.
"Junior Tie Xueyi pays respects to Pill Master Fang!"
Tie Xueyi gave a bow and presented several jade slips: "I have successfully completed the task... This trip went very smoothly, here is the reply from Peach Blossom Island!"
Fang Xi took one of the jade slips and when his Divine Consciousness entered it, he saw Ruan Xingling’s handwriting.
The woman was respectfully congratulating him on his successful Foundation Establishment and stated that she would personally visit Baize Immortal City during the grand auction in a few years.
’Polite but distant... could it be that Lord Ruan feels inferior?’ Fang Xi stroked his chin thoughtfully.
In truth, Ruan Xingling was soft on the outside but resolute on the inside, quite decisive, otherwise she wouldn’t have declined the proposal of a Taoist Companion back then.
He then read the reply from Wei Yixi.
This half-disciple was still as quirky as ever, first congratulating Uncle on completing the Foundation Establishment, and then clamoring to visit Baize Immortal City for fun...
Luckily, the girl hadn’t forgotten the important matters and brought up the situation of the people at Jadeite Cliff.
After the battle of Dragon Fish Island, Lu Guo and the others had all returned unscathed, but Hai Dagui and Wang Xiaohu had bad luck, not only failing to gain any spoils in the final battle but also suffering severe injuries again, delaying their cultivation while recuperating back at Jadeite Cliff.
On the other hand, Lu Guo had encountered some opportunity, as he managed to break through to the late stages of Qi Refining upon returning.
But regarding the matters of Dragon Fish Island, they were kept tightly under wraps.
Following that battle, the Top Three Families comprising of Taishu, Yuchi, and Xiahou ruled Thousand Island Lake, generously granting titles of Island Masters to individual cultivators, earning much praise and ushering in a period of peace and stability for the lake.
Of course, Wei Yixi was quick to point out that the Top Three Families had suffered many casualties during the last battle, with rumors saying even the family heads fell in combat... leading to their weakened strength and thus fulfilling their promise out of necessity.
’Xixi believes... if Uncle wants to choose a cultivation place, now is an excellent opportunity... If you return to Thousand Island Lake and maneuver a bit, even if Dragon Fish Island is out of reach, at least Ling Kong Island could be obtained...’ she suggested at the end with a demeanor eager for a bit of chaos.
’Thousand Island Lake... I will naturally return, but not now,’ Fang Xi said to himself.
He could imagine that during the grant of the new Island Masters, the Destroy Heaven Alliance had likely meddled quite a bit.
It was likely that a good portion of the newly appointed Island Masters were their people.
The current Thousand Island Lake was practically a grand base for the Demon Path, even the loyalty of the Foundation Establishment patron of the Thirty Six Island Alliance, Ye Sanren, was not clear cut.
Fang Xi would be a fool to return at this time.
Not only did he not want to go back, but if possible, he also wanted to lead the people of Peach Blossom Island out of the demonic quagmire first.
But... this was not something that could be openly discussed.
"You have worked hard, Iron Alliance Master."
Having read the letters, Fang Xi saw Tie Xueyi still standing respectfully to one side and smiled, offering a small pouch of Spirit Stones.
"Truth be told, the Island Master has already rewarded me for delivering the letters to Peach Blossom Island; I really shouldn’t accept more..." Tie Xueyi declined repeatedly.
Watching his departing figure, Fang Xi fell into contemplation.
He lacked someone reliable in the lower echelons of Baize Immortal City; perhaps he could try to cultivate him?
...
After finishing his alchemy and receiving guests for the day, Fang Xi returned to his cultivation room to work on the ’Thousand Thread Puppet Controlling Skills.’
His Divine Consciousness was strong, which made learning the magic spell fairly easy. In the past few months, he had gradually become proficient.
At the same time, he was openly gathering some raw materials for puppet skill, preparing to practice on his own and also ready for future modifications on second-order puppets.
Following puppet skill, there was the daily task of observing the Fragmented World.
...
Fragmented World.
It was still the same river.
Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness could only extend outward for a mere five yards, unsure how this was depleted through the world’s transition.
However, the range of his Divine Consciousness seemed slightly greater than before, though he wasn’t certain if it was just an illusion.
Fang Xi made a mental note of this minor discovery, speculating that his Divine Consciousness might benefit from traveling between two worlds by means of a spiritual treasure—minimally, it should at least serve to exercise his Divine Consciousness!
"After exploring during this period of time... I have learned that my Divine Consciousness is indeed somewhat useful."
As Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness entered the mirror fragment, the broken Bronze Mirror began to emit a faint light.
Even upon the mirror’s surface, line after line of text emerged...
"With Divine Consciousness as the brush, and the mirror’s surface as paper, expending the power of Divine Consciousness, one can leave behind characters..."
This was a minor feature he had discovered through his recent explorations.
Overall, he could now fool people into thinking he was a spirit akin to that of a tool, although... it still didn’t seem very useful.
"Hmm? Someone’s coming again!"
Fang Xi released his Divine Consciousness and noticed another person dressed in beast skins arriving by the river.
The individual had a robust physique, but his face appeared somewhat youthful. He was carrying a huge water pouch and had dark blue tattoos on his body.
"Maybe... I should give it a try?"
Fang Xi was pondering whether or not to lure this person over when he picked up the World Fragment.
Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred!
As the youth was fetching water, a young man in black beast skins stealthily approached. His movements were smooth, and with a black dagger in hand, he resembled a hunting leopard, crawling through the grass before pouncing viciously on his prey.
Thud!
Caught off guard, the youth instantly sustained a large gash on his back from the dagger and emitted a strange noise as he looked at his attacker.
’Ugh... it’s indeed a foreign language; I don’t understand it...’
Fang Xi made a comment but carefully remembered the pronunciation.
Ever since he had cultivated Divine Consciousness, he became a little genius. Not only did he make rapid progress in the difficult Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation, but he also found it exceedingly easy to learn ordinary human skills.
The two youths engaged swiftly. Though they were immensely strong, Fang Xi considered their prowess to be at the level of mundane martial artists.
In Great Liang, they would barely reach the Three Transformations of Qi and Blood stage, not even fit to be a Principal of a Martial Arts School!
The attacker also shouted loudly a few times, his eyes gleaming with eagerness.
’It doesn’t look like a vendetta; more like murder for treasure?’
Fang Xi observed the pronunciation and expressions of the two talking carefully... The water-fetching youth, though more advanced in martial arts, was at a disadvantage due to the surprise attack and sustained considerable damage.
He gradually fell into an unfavorable position, and the wounds on his body grew in number.
Eventually, he threw a handful of sand to repel the attacker, shouted loudly, and flung a bag far away.
At the same time, he stealthily tossed an item into the river behind him.
Fang Xi scanned with his Divine Consciousness and found that it was an unremarkable, dust-covered object similar in appearance to an ordinary pebble.
The attacking youth, as agile as a bird, captured the small bag and pulled out a dust-covered stone, identical to the previous one, his expression filled with joy.
Immediately after, he looked at the youth with a fierce expression.
After a few exchanges, the youth’s heart was pierced by the dagger, and he collapsed on the ground, completely lifeless.
The overjoyed youth laughed triumphantly and kicked the body into the river with a swift foot.
Streams of fresh blood dispersed in the river, drifting to the edge of the Bronze Mirror fragment.
Fang Xi silently watched the youth’s corpse.
’Indeed, you’re not the protagonist...’
He commented to himself, his Divine Consciousness continuing to observe the inconspicuous pebble.
’Hmm, it’s definitely not a common object; it seems to contain spiritual energy inside?’
The pebble was only two zhang away from the fragment and not very far.
Fang Xi thought about it but had no intention of alerting the murderer-cum-treasure-seeker.
He didn’t consider himself a good person, but he wasn’t a bad person either.
As an ordinary man, he naturally hoped there would be more good people in the world.
Even if he had to deal with bad people, he’d rather interact with good people, hoping for more of them in the world.
"Anyway, I have a long life ahead of me, no need to hurry... I’ll continue to wait for the right moment..."
Feeling the wear of his Divine Consciousness, Fang Xi withdrew it voluntarily.
...
In the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm, within Baize Immortal City’s Peach Blossom Pavilion,
Fang Xi opened his eyes, feeling as though he had experienced a dream.
"Only... this dream was a bit too real..."
"That world seemed rather primitive..."
Recalling the beast skin attire of the youths and their crude daggers, Fang Xi became contemplative.
"Furthermore... the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi there should be more abundant than in Great Liang World... Spiritual objects, too, are not uncommon, at least both youngsters with the Three Transformations of Qi and Blood were able to find one... Though its use remains unknown."
"In terms of the cultivation system, it’s still at the level of mortal striking techniques... I haven’t seen any Demon Beasts or the like... and there are no Monster Beasts in the river," Fang Xi summarized his observations over the days.
"Overall, I still don’t know if that world holds any value?"
Fang Xi contemplated for a while. His short-term goal in the Fragment World should be those intangible cultivation methods, secret skills, and knowledge...
After all, he couldn’t bring anything there, and objects from that place couldn’t be transported here.
Isn’t he only able to acquire intangible knowledge and wealth?
"As for the long-term goal... it would be to constantly explore ways to transfer objects or even people... At the very least, I must retrieve that Bronze Mirror fragment!"
For that Supreme Treasure capable of traversing the heavens, Fang Xi was determined to obtain it!
"Such a divine object... how did it come to be broken in the first place?"
He pondered the past and fell into a silent reverie...