Chapter 177: Chapter 176: Witch King (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance)_1
Late at night.
Inside the tent of the Big Shaman.
"Demon Mirror, Demon Mirror, tell me... How can I extend my life and continue to break through?"
Big Shaman Ba Yan spread two animal skins out in front of the mirror, his expression filled with excitement.
For ten years, he had tried all sorts of methods, whether burning with fire, sealing with ice, or even bombarding with various shamanic spells... none could leave the slightest mark on the fragments.
Moreover, these fragments only accepted things related to Battle Marks, and they would provide a reward in return.
Even if it was just a technique for casting spells autonomously for a few moments, it was enough to amaze the Big Shaman.
Not to mention... there was also the secret technique to steal Spirit Marks!
Although he had secretly used slaves to try this technique several times and they all failed, he inadvertently discovered the marvelous use of the "Stealing Immortal Foundation" technique—it could actually remove the original Battle Marks from a shaman’s body!
This instantly made Ba Yan feel incredulous and extremely fearful.
After all, this broke the iron rules that had been passed down from generation to generation among the shamans!
Therefore, he called the mirror piece "Demon Mirror"!
Fang Xi swept his Divine Consciousness over it, memorizing the "Fierce Mountain Spiritual Mark" and the "Water Spiritual Pattern".
Even if the Big Shaman were to notice this, he would only consider him as an entity similar to a spiritual being, quite fitting indeed.
’How would I know how to break through?’
’However, if we look at it in terms of the Immortal Path... there are indeed two routes.’
’Let’s test it on you...’
A thought flashed through Fang Xi’s mind.
After all, what he offered were things that he was not afraid would kill a person.
As long as there was greed in people’s hearts, they would always seek him out for a deal.
Therefore...
A ray of light flickered on the mirror surface, revealing "Witch texts"—[Collect "Metal," "Wood," "Water," "Fire," and "Earth" from the Five Elements Spiritual Marks, condense the "Great Five Elements Treasure Pattern"... or gather Wind, Ice, and Thunder Spiritual Marks to form the "Mini Three Wonders Pattern"!]
"The three thousand great Dao paths, different paths leading to the same destination... Given that there are Metal and Water Spiritual Marks, it should be possible to collect all five elements and ascend..."
"And Wind, Thunder, and Ice... can be combined into the Mini Three Wonders!"
This was common knowledge in the Cultivation World, but it did not prevent Fang Xi from using it to bamboozle the Shaman Race.
At the very least, this Treasure Pattern system should have this route.
And if he was wrong?
Then he would simply be wrong... after all, after the Big Shaman’s death, he could still make deals with other members of the Shaman Race.
However, through the study of the "Metal" and "Xun Wind" Spiritual Marks, as well as the discovery of the ingredients for Longevity Elixir, Fang Xi became even more convinced that this Battle Mark system had a lot to do with Immortal Cultivators and had many things in common.
That Fragment World must have once had the presence of Immortal Cultivators!
"Great Five Elements Treasure Pattern... and Mini Three Wonders Pattern?"
Ba Yan’s expression was stunned, as if in doubt.
"Indeed... ’Metal,’ ’Wood,’ ’Water,’ ’Fire,’ and ’Earth’ from the Five Elements Spiritual Marks can indeed form the ’Five Elements Treasure Pattern’... This Treasure Pattern is exclusive to the City of Five Elements, and the Tribe of Five Elements is a powerful tribe in the east..."
Suddenly, a dark, hoarse voice rose from the side.
"Who?"
Ba Yan’s expression changed drastically, and with a wave of his hand, a Spiritual Wind entwined around him.
He saw a man clad in a black robe, wearing a bronze mask, leisurely looking at the fragment, with an interested expression.
What was more terrifying was that this person seemed to have been standing here for a long time, yet Ba Yan had not noticed him at all!
"Interesting! Black Mountain Tribe... Your ’Spirit-opening Script’ is quite good... Originally, I only planned to come and have a look, since your tribe has been quite active lately, but I didn’t expect to find so many surprises."
The man in the black robe let out a mocking laugh, a strong Spiritual Pressure swept around, forcing Ba Yan to kneel down: "Witch... Witch King?!"
Looking at the mirror fragment, he realized he was facing the greatest crisis of his life and hurriedly kowtowed: "Great Witch King, I am willing to offer our tribe’s most precious treasure—the Demon Mirror to you! We can use Battle Marks to exchange all kinds of knowledge from the Demon Mirror..."
"Indeed, I like those who understand the times. But, unfortunately..."
The man in the black robe extended a finger and gave a gentle flick.
Pop!
A ray of treasure light flashed by, easily shattering Ba Yan’s protective Spiritual Wind, and pierced through his forehead.
Thump!
The Big Shaman’s body slumped to the ground.
"Spirit-opening Script, Stealing Immortal Foundation, and the Longevity Elixir... even the art of casting spells at will..."
"Such precious treasures, even my ’City of Black Nirvana’ might not be able to withstand it... Therefore, the dead are the best at keeping secrets."
The Witch King wearing the bronze mask murmured, tucking the bronze mirror fragment into his chest, his figure slowly fading away.
Long after, a subordinate Shaman dared to burst in, only to discover the Big Shaman’s body and let out a shrill scream: "It’s terrible... the Big Shaman is dead!!!"
...
Whoosh whoosh!
Above the ninth heaven, the astral winds were intense.
This was Fang Xi’s first time experiencing such a rapid escape speed.
’A Witch King comparable to a Core Formation ancestor... I didn’t expect this day to come so quickly!’
He felt somewhat emotional.
Although he had known that Ba Yan, with his recklessness, was bound to stumble eventually, he should have lasted longer.
He had hoped that Ba Yan would defeat the nearby tribes and plunder enough Spiritual Marks for him.
But... perhaps now wasn’t so bad either?
With the Witch King’s escape speed, every object on the ground was rapidly receding.
It wasn’t long before a black city appeared on the horizon.
The entire city was built from gigantic black rocks, exuding a style both archaic and wild.
Perhaps it was commonplace in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm, but in the Fragment World, it was a rare sight to see such a large city.
——City of Black Nirvana!
The Witch King, donning a bronze mask, entered the city and proceeded to the largest building.
Seated upon the Obsidian Throne, she casually tossed her right hand.
The bronze mirror shard then hovered in midair.
"This king is giving you one last chance, will you show yourself or not?"
The Witch King snorted coldly.
Fang Xi’s heart tightened, yet he remained unfazed.
"Hmph!"
After waiting for a moment and seeing no response from the bronze mirror, a pitch-black flame spontaneously emerged, completely enveloping the mirror shard.
"Core Formation Cultivator’s Core Fire?"
Fang Xi felt the terrifying temperature from the outside, not daring to release his Divine Consciousness, but as he shrank within the mirror shard, he felt nothing at all.
’Treasures of All Heavens’ was at least an Immortal Weapon level item; if it could be burned by Core Formation Core Fire, that would be a joke.
The pitch-black flame burned for several hours, and seeing that the bronze mirror shard remained unchanged without even the slightest mark, it was ultimately the Witch King who lost her patience first.
She removed her bronze mask, revealing a face as radiant as peach blossoms, and her cherry lips slightly parted, "Come out... I won’t harm you..."
This voice was soft, sweet, and tender, nothing like her previous hoarse and somber tone.
But Fang Xi shuddered, "It’s similar to Charm Skill? This Witch King is no simple character... Fortunately, I’m hiding in the mirror shard, completely unaffected."
As for the gender of the Witch King?
That was the least important thing now.
What followed...
Fang Xi truly witnessed the Witch King’s top-notch strength!
Indeed, every move she made caused heaven and earth to tremble, with the power to raze mountains and boil seas!
However, no matter how the woman attacked, the bronze mirror shard remained unchanged, without even the smallest scratch.
And his Divine Consciousness, hiding within the mirror shard, also felt a hint of All Laws Immunity.
Even more so, Fang Xi felt that as the Witch King continuously infused magic power, attempting to refine it, the bronze mirror shard actually became a bit more active.
Although this change was minimal, almost like an illusion, it helped him realize something.
’To repair, no... To unlock certain functions of the fragment... At least Tier Three, or even higher tier power or Spiritual Object is required?’
He was inwardly stern.
And after trying all kinds of methods to no avail, the female Witch King’s voice turned extremely cold, "If you’re of no use... I will seal you at the bottom of a volcano, so you may never see daylight again!"
’Let’s see, I’ve always known when to bend or stand firm!’
’However, it’s better to play as a spirit bound by rules, rigid and fair, and it’s best to avoid being discovered possessing intelligence.’
After pondering for a while, Fang Xi caused a flash of light upon the mirror shard.
And then...
One by one, the shapes and descriptions of herbs began to appear.
"Wrinkle-Resisting Pill Recipe? Can it maintain one’s youthful appearance for decades?"
The Witch King’s face showed no sign of pleasure or anger, until the pill recipe was half revealed and she stopped, showing a slight change in her expression, staring blankly at the Witch texts on the last line of the mirror shard.
On the shard, the last line of Witch texts was —— [Treasure Pattern]!
...
"I admit I’m a bit greedy, wanting to exchange a Tier Two pill recipe for a Treasure Pattern..."
Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm.
Fang Xi opened his eyes, "But if you don’t try, how do you know it won’t work? At most I’d be hidden in the treasure trove for a few decades..."
In terms of lifespan, he was confident in surpassing most of the Core Formation ancestors.
Therefore, he didn’t fear waiting and the subsequent back-and-forth struggle.
"Besides... in the Fragment World, I’ve already gained a lot... It’s a good time to digest it all..."
With that thought, Fang Xi took out two jade slips, engraved with the ’Fierce Mountain’ and ’Water Spiritual’ two great Spirit Marks, and started to study them carefully.
He could feel that, in the process of contemplating these Spirit Marks, his Array Master cultivation was also making rapid progress.
"This ’Fierce Mountain Spiritual Mark’ is composed of the elemental patterns ’flame’, ’high temperature’, ’like a mountain’... if branded on Array Flags or Spiritual Instruments... it will definitely increase the power explosively."
Fang Xi, already having accomplishments of a Tier Two mid-grade Array Master, naturally favored arrays more.
"It’s just that the Spirit Marks are still too few to form an array, it’s still not quite enough... but the Treasure Pattern is enough to be carried by an array... and its might will surely be earth-shattering!"
Array, after all, is the means to explore higher powers!
Able to break through the great divine chasm of the realms!
Fang Xi had no small amount of experience with this.
However, after delving into the Spirit Marks and elemental patterns once more, he suddenly felt a heart palpitation, "This Battle Mark path is simplistic, quick to master, and specializes in one aspect, it actually doesn’t resemble Immortal Cultivator’s methods, but more like... Taoist Soldiers, or even... cauldrons!"
He had previously obtained two Demon Path cultivation techniques, which had early descriptions.
For instance, the ’Five Extremities Primordial Demon Skill’ contained a particularly cruel method, requiring the collection of disciples with unique talents, teaching them the ’White Bone Great Strength Method.’ The training process of this method was excruciatingly painful, once cultivated the power is immense, but it also turns the cultivator himself into a ’half magic instrument’ or even a ’half spiritual instrument’!
When the demon master is short of a handy magic instrument, he can simply butcher a disciple, extract their entire skeletal structure, and easily refine it into a Demon Path magic instrument!
The entire process is akin to raising pigs!
"Fortunately... I have never planned to implant Battle Marks on myself, and these Battle Marks are only compatible with the physique of the Shaman Race, it’s better carried by objects after all. If worse comes to worst, I can abandon them..."