Chapter 160: Chapter 159: Treasures of All Heavens (Congratulations to the Night Alliance Leader for his Cramps!) _1
The appearance of a Core Formation spiritual object on stage was met with silence at the beginning, and the auction house fell into dead quiet.
It was even more so for the Qi Refining Individual Cultivators, who could only stare greedily at the ’Mysterious Water Essence’ in Ouyang Zhen’s hands, probably the closest they would ever come to Core Formation in their lives...
After a long while, a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage from a private room started the bidding with a tremulous voice, "Eleven thousand Spirit Stones..."
"Twelve thousand..."
"Fifteen thousand..."
"I bid fifteen thousand Spirit Stones, plus three pieces of ’Treasure Moon Crystal’..."
"Fourteen thousand Spirit Stones, and I’ll add this ’Six Union Golden Flower’... This is material for forging magical treasures!"
...
The scene was chaotic, yet Fang Xi sat back in his seat, not offering a bid.
Being at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, to compete for the ’Mysterious Water Essence’ would be utterly useless for him and could even make him a target for all.
"Who is actually auctioning off this item? Is it a fishing expedition?"
"Baize Immortal City is located at the junction of three countries; only late Foundation Establishment and complete Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the three countries would need this item..."
"I don’t understand, I just don’t understand..."
Fang Xi had to admit that, although his horizons and social circle had expanded a lot since reaching Foundation Establishment, he still couldn’t quite see through the real high-level movements.
For instance, inside Yue Country, Ancestor Song relied on a third-tier Array to hold his ground staunchly, and the ancestor of Mysterious Heaven Sect couldn’t do anything to him, thus using a Core Formation spiritual object to lure him out of seclusion?
’No, Ancestor Song wouldn’t leave his place before Core Formation... So, is it to lure out the Song Family Member and then take advantage in the chaos?’
Before deciding to wage all-out war, Mysterious Heaven Sect couldn’t openly rob and kill other Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Song Family, after all, as long as there’s even a slight chance for Ancestor Song to achieve Core Formation, the other powers would hesitate to completely fall out with them.
’And furthermore... the Song Family might still have some trump card, right?’
’This is assuming that the Mysterious Water Essence is a bait set by Mysterious Heaven Sect... The real situation is even more complicated; it might well be that a Qi Refining cultivator struck lucky and got a Core Formation spiritual object and is selling it for a big haul of Spirit Stones!’
Fang Xi watched the increasingly lively bidding and got up to leave.
The temptation of the Core Formation spiritual object was too great!
He was slightly afraid that Baize Immortal City and Ouyang Zhen couldn’t control the situation, and if he left slowly, getting splattered with blood would be problematic.
...
Peach Blossom Pavilion.
"Eh? Lord Ruan has also returned?"
Upon returning to Peach Blossom Pavilion, Fang Xi saw Ruan Xingling and couldn’t help but be slightly startled.
"Yes... Having bid for what I needed, Xingling did not dare to linger and has now rented a second-tier dongfu from Fairy City, preparing for a breakthrough in seclusion!"
Ruan Xingling was exuding an unstoppable momentum!
Those of advanced years at Foundation Establishment indeed took an all-or-nothing gamble!
"Lord Ruan seems to be in prime condition, with an impressive aura. I fear that before long, there will be one more fellow Daoist in the Fairy City."
Fang Xi offered his blessings.
"Thank you!"
Ruan Xingling smiled radiantly, bid farewell to Ruan Dan and the others, and disappeared into the street.
...
Meanwhile, Fang Xi ordered Wei Yixi and the others not to go out recently and went into seclusion for cultivation himself.
Cultivation Quiet Room.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and connected with the Bronze Mirror using his Divine Consciousness.
"This Bronze Mirror can communicate with all heavens; how about calling it ’Treasures of All Heavens’?"
With a thought, he passed through the Bronze Mirror and once again entered the Fragment World.
It was still the riverbed, with heavy snow fluttering outside, and the current slow as if about to freeze into ice.
By the riverside, there was a trail of footprints, appearing as though someone had been pacing back and forth.
"Hmm, smaller than that of an adult... Could it be a teenager?"
After some contemplation with his Divine Consciousness, Fang Xi made his judgment.
He finally confirmed that traversing between two worlds with his Divine Consciousness had the effect of tempering it.
Over time, his Divine Consciousness had even been steadily growing; now, in the South Wilderness, he could extend it beyond fifty-three Zhang.
In the Fragment World, that was a little over five Zhang...
It was precisely because he discovered this effect that Fang Xi was so engrossed in it every time.
"What’s this?"
Just then, Fang Xi saw a teenager dressed in white fox beast fur clothes come to the riverside again.
Looking at his face, it bore a vague resemblance to the teenager who was previously robbed and killed.
"A relative? Younger brother?"
Fang Xi was somewhat interested.
The corpse of the deceased teenager had long since drifted downstream with the river.
However, something secretly hidden by the victim still remained.
Splash!
At this moment, the teenager on the shore stripped off his beast fur clothing and dived into the water, searching inch by inch for something.
’It seems... he is looking for that thing?’
’Considering that my fragment is a spiritual treasure, it should not be easily damaged...’
Fang Xi’s thoughts stirred; he had long since grown impatient with this place.
The very next moment!
The teenager who was diving sensed an object in the water, emitting a faint glow.
He swam towards it and discovered that the glowing object was a broken piece of a Bronze Mirror.
"What is... this... treasure?"
The teenager’s mouth produced bubbles as he kicked his legs, approached with a swim-dive, and scooped up the piece of the Bronze Mirror.
Splash!
On the riverbank, the teenager climbed back ashore, his body red from the cold, and hurriedly made a fire to warm up.
Even with his cultivation making him physically strong, diving into the water in snowy weather nearly froze him.
That moment, as the teenager warmed himself by the fire, he examined the piece of Bronze Mirror in his hands, his face full of confusion.
The surface of the mirror still had a speck of light on it!
"Is this... a Spiritual Object?"
"Or perhaps a treasure left behind by a Big Shaman?"
The youth murmured to himself. Although Fang Xi couldn’t understand, he memorized the pronunciation.
After fiddling with the mirror’s surface for a while, the boy suddenly placed the mirror on the ground and pulled out a bone dagger, viciously stabbing towards the bronze mirror!
Whomp!
The bronze mirror remained unscathed, but instead, the bone dagger was notched.
Scratching his head, the youth then placed the mirror into the fire to bake.
’Damn...’
Inside the mirror, Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness couldn’t help but curse, "I kindly point you towards treasure and this is how you treat me? Truly unfilial!"
Fortunately, just as Fang Xi had anticipated, the bronze mirror fragment was completely unharmed by the flames and even seemed to look more pristine with time.
Only then did the boy realize he was in possession of a precious treasure, but he was slightly baffled by the dots of light on the mirror’s surface.
"My brother’s relic... I must find it... to awaken my spirit!"
The youth uttered softly, looking at the river and then checking the sky, preparing to return later.
But as he left, he noticed that the light on the mirror was getting farther and farther away from the dot.
"This..."
The boy took a few steps left, a few steps right... and suddenly he seemed to understand.
Holding the mirror, he muttered, "There’s something... in the river?"
Splash!
He plunged into the river again, followed the guidance of the mirror, swam to the place where the treasure had been hidden, and grabbed the dusty-looking stone.
Whoosh!
Leaping out of the water, he suddenly howled to the sky, "Brother... is it your spirit in the heavens guiding me? With this ’Spirit-opening Stone,’ I will surely succeed in awakening my spirit and avenge you..."
"What are you jabbering about?"
Fang Xi remembered everything with his Divine Consciousness but still didn’t understand.
He followed the boy, watching him put the bronze mirror fragment and the stone into a small beast hide pouch, carefully hanging it on his chest, and then making his way home.
Along the way, Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness occasionally scanned the nearby scenery, memorizing the features of this world.
About an hour later, he ’saw’ a primitive and simple tribal camp.
A giant palisade stood at the mouth of a valley, paired with defensive structures like watchtowers.
Beyond the valley, there were plenty of huts made from animal skins and wood, where people dressed in animal hide were bustling about.
The boy went straight to a hut to rest, and next door, a tall woman was breastfeeding.
After putting the baby to sleep, she went on to teach a few one or two-year-old infants to speak.
At the entrance, there was a huge, eerily white monster skull impaled on a stake, looking quite terrifying.
"Good, I’ve finally come to a gathering place of the human race; now I can learn to speak..."
Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness swept around, feeling very satisfied: "It’s just that... it feels a bit too primitive..."
He extended his Divine Consciousness, continuously recording everything he saw.
After an indeterminate amount of time, with a surge of clamor, the boy was also woken up and came out of the tent.
From the mouth of the valley, cheers could be heard.
A few burly men covered in tattoos were carrying several game animals, returning triumphantly from the hunt.
"This is..."
With the boy’s approach, Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness swept over the area and saw a massive beast like a house with six saber teeth—a black-haired wild boar.
"Is this... a Monster beast? Its aura seems a bit unusual..."
"But it should be quite strong, just its physical body could compare with the Qi Refining middle or later stages, right?"
He suddenly started to feel a little excited about this world.
...
"Not bad at all, this exploration was quite rewarding..."
Back in the Training Room, Fang Xi came to his senses and smirked wryly.
Feeling the emptiness and fatigue of his Divine Consciousness, he sat cross-legged and ingested medicinal pills for recovery.
He had this feeling that it was through such cycles of depletion and recovery that his Divine Consciousness was truly honed.
Of course, the contribution of the ’Treasures of All Heavens’ was simply indispensable.
If it weren’t for his travels between two worlds, relying solely on the constant consumption of Divine Consciousness for enhancement would be too simplistic. Divine Consciousness Secret Skills and cultivation techniques would then seem too elementary, and Foundation Establishment Cultivators could easily augment their Divine Consciousness, never becoming stuck in a particular stage for long.
When Fang Xi left seclusion, he found the courtyard quite lively.
Unable to go out, Wei Yixi opened some Spirit Wine, pulling Ruan Dan and others for a drink, and threatened Daqing Fish into making ’Little Green Dragon Soup’.
Daqing Fish, indifferent, leisurely swam around, occasionally blowing bubbles.
"Young Master!"
Jin Ling came back from shopping, looking pale with fright, clutching her chest: "That scared me to death..."
"Is the auction over?"
Fang Xi guessed something and asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Ruan Dan and the others couldn’t help but prick up their ears.
"Yes..."
Jin Ling said, "Rumors are flying everywhere outside. Some say the Song Family went broke trying to get the Core Formation Spiritual Object, others say it was bought by a late-stage Foundation Establishment Individual Cultivator from the Wood Kingdom... But indeed, a major battle erupted outside Fairy City after the grand auction ended. Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators took action, and the radiance and destruction were indeed frightening..."
"Troubled times indeed..."
Fang Xi heaved a sigh, wondering if he’d chosen the wrong posture in his pursuit of keeping a low profile. How could it be that after about ten years of tranquility, his peaceful life was about to be disrupted?
’No, as long as I’m determined to lay low, no one can bother me!’
He made up his mind and said sternly, "Starting today, the Peach Blossom Pavilion is closed to visitors; all of you are to go into seclusion!"
"Uncle..."
Wei Yixi looked at him with a pitiful gaze.
"Especially you, failing to break through the later stages of Qi Refining at your age is an embarrassment!"
Fang Xi put on a serious face: "Unless you break through the later stages of Qi Refining, you are not allowed to leave seclusion!"