Chapter 181: Chapter 180: Amulet (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance!)_1
"Elder Ge, what do you think?"
Yan Huayang looked at the gray-robed elder in front of him.
Fang Xi sat on one side, and on the table was an open jade box, inside which were yellow-brown array flags shimmering with spiritual radiance.
Ever since he claimed his "Earth-shaking Array" was ranked as a high-tier second-grade formation capable of destroying the earth’s meridians, Yan Huayang naturally didn’t believe him, so he called over his most capable array master.
"Reporting to the great shopkeeper..."
Although Elder Ge’s cultivation was only at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, his skills in arrays had astonishingly reached the lower-tier second grade, making him a rare master of arrays.
Even Yan Huayang had to treat him with respect.
At this moment, Elder Ge put down an array flag he was holding and said with a bitter smile, "This Elder Mu’s ’Earth-shaking Array’ is uniquely constructed and its principle differs greatly from the various array traditions of Yue Country. I am but a shallow learner, and I truly find it hard to judge... I can only confirm that this formation is indeed of a high-tier second grade, it may self-destruct after a single use, and it is indeed of the earth attribute..."
"Is that so... Elder Ge, you may step down now..."
Yan Huayang saw Elder Ge out; then, he faced off with Fang Xi, his eyes wide with incredulity, "How can I be sure that this formation has the ability to destroy the earth’s meridians?"
Fang Xi smiled and said, "I have already sworn by my Heart Demon and even the Dao itself, is that not enough?"
’You old fellow are probably approaching one hundred and fifty years old, with no intention of advancing in cultivation, naturally, you don’t care about Heart Demons or the Dao...’
Yan Huayang muttered to himself, but the smile on his face grew even more splendid, "How about... Sir, you give us a demonstration, or maybe wait a few more days, and a better array master from the sect will come..."
"Heh heh..."
Fang Xi chuckled coldly and directly said, "To be truthful... I must complete a deal within this one hour, and even if it doesn’t happen, I will leave immediately, not giving you the chance to leisurely summon someone from your sect... Otherwise, what shall I do if that Elder Jiang comes here directly?"
He dared to do business because he naturally had a plan and preparation in place.
Given the distance between Qingling Market and the Mysterious Heaven Sect Mountain Gate, even if Yan Huayang had notified the sect immediately, Elder Jiang could not arrive at the market within an hour.
Fang Xi did not originally know the speed at which a Core Formation elder could move, but with the Witch King as a reference, he had made a generous estimate.
Furthermore, Yue Country did not possess technology as advanced as a teleportation array...
"Since that’s the case..."
As a middle-stage Foundation Establishment core figure of the sect, Yan Huayang had a vague sense that if the array was genuine, it would be of great use.
But he still found it difficult to make a decision.
"How about... I give you a discount..."
Fang Xi blinked and took a step back, "I won’t sell the array for Spirit Stones, but if you have anything else to trade, you can bring it out for me to see first..."
A one-time second-grade high-tier formation would only be worth the same as a mid-tier second-grade formation under normal circumstances.
But if it had the unique effect of breaking through the earth’s meridians, its value to the Mysterious Heaven Sect would be immeasurable and too great to give up.
Seeing Fang Xi ready to leave at any disagreement, Yan Huayang could only grit his teeth and produced a wooden box from his Storage Bag.
After lifting the "Sealing Spirit Talisman" on it, a yellow talisman emerged before Fang Xi’s eyes.
"This is..."
Fang Xi looked at the brand new talisman, which depicted a simple ring surrounded by some flame patterns, yet emanating a terrifying aura.
"Could it be... a Talisman?"
He recalled the green jade knife Situ Jia had used before and tentatively inquired.
"Indeed, it’s a Talisman! A brand new Talisman that has never been used!" Yan Huayang said painfully, "As an exchange, what do you think, Sir?"
"It could barely suffice, but... it would be even better if you add on the second-grade high-tier alchemy heritage I took a fancy to earlier," Fang Xi evenly replied.
"You’re really asking for the moon... combining these two items could more than suffice to exchange for a permanent second-grade high-tier array," Yan Huayang shouted angrily, his mid-stage Foundation Establishment aura fully unleashed.
Unfortunately, for Fang Xi, it felt like nothing more than a gentle breeze on his face.
Once Yan Huayang had vented, Fang Xi continued to haggle in an unhurried fashion...
A stick of incense later...
He walked out of Qingling Mountain, became a streak of light, and flew several tens of miles away.
Once he confirmed with his Divine Consciousness that there was no one nearby, he immediately took out a second-grade Flying Puppet, commanded it to perform its innate Monster Skills, and carried him off quickly.
’It looks like... the Mysterious Heaven Sect is really getting ready to take action, even willing to pay such an exorbitant price to close the deal.’
’But my arrays are definitely worth more than what was paid.’
Fang Xi touched the Storage Bag, where the Talisman he had seen earlier, and a jade slip recording the second-grade alchemy heritage, lay quietly.
’The Vermilion Bird Ring Talisman?’
’This magical artifact seems to be the renowned possession of Elder Jiang in Yue Country... It looks like Elder Jiang’s days are truly numbered, to have even gone to the extent of weakening his life-bound magical artifact’s Primordial Energy to create a Talisman...’
’With this Talisman in hand, I can even fight against a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator...’
’I’ve made a fortune this time, time to head back to Baize Immortal City and not come out again!’
’Just wait for the Song Family to meet their misfortune...’
As for this commotion, Fang Xi was definitely not going to watch it.
Watching the excitement is interesting, but there’s also the chance of becoming the excitement and ending up bloodstained, which would not be fun at all.
...
Baize Immortal City.
Not sparing his Primordial Energy, Fang Xi drove the puppet all the way until he could see the majestic immortal city, only then did he allow himself to relax a bit.
At this moment, he had naturally transformed into the appearance of another Qi Refining cultivator, entering the city in a low-key manner.
Peach Blossom Pavilion.
"Uncle, where have you been these days? Lord Ruan has been looking for you quite a few times..."
Wei Yixi was overjoyed to see Fang Xi return, eagerly coming over to greet him.
"Oh? What happened?"
Fang Xi returned to the living room, sat down, and naturally exuded a tranquil and detached aura, which made Wei Yixi slow down her speech as well, "Ruan Dan has partnered up with someone and found Master Lu to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, successfully creating two of them, and has chosen to rent a cave for closed-door cultivation..."
"I see."
Fang Xi nodded and tossed a jade bottle to Wei Yixi, "This time Uncle went out, he also found an opportunity for Foundation Establishment for you, take a look..."
"This is..."
Wei Yixi opened the bottle stopper, her eyes immediately widening, and she blushed slightly, "Uncle... you are so good to me."
"Mm, first make a Heart Demon and Great Dao oath never to reveal any secrets... then sign a Spiritual Agreement with me, and you’ll owe Uncle five thousand Spirit Stones," Fang Xi said, waving his hand.
Actually, it wasn’t such a big deal for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to get hold of a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
Still, he was inclined towards making sure things were secure.
And since the selling price for a Foundation Establishment Pill was often close to ten thousand Spirit Stones, charging Wei Yixi only five thousand Spirit Stones was already a discount.
"After you rent the Dongfu, there’s no need to be overly anxious. Begin by adjusting your body and mind in closed-door cultivation. When you feel it’s the right time, then you can take the Foundation Establishment Pill to break through..."
Fang Xi shared some of his Foundation Establishment experience before letting Wei Yixi leave.
...
Closed-door cultivation room.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged, his Divine Consciousness connecting with the ’Treasures of All Heavens’.
’Hmm... since it’s observation through Divine Consciousness, perhaps I can withdraw one main combat Puppet’s thoughts and let it stay in the Fragment World... That way, should any special events occur, I won’t be absent and regret it...’
As his Divine Consciousness delved into the mirror, he heard a voice:
"Demon Mirror, Demon Mirror, tell me... why is Alchemy so hard...?"
"Demon Mirror, Demon Mirror... creating Talismans is actually quite simple. I’ve already drawn a second-tier Talisman. Indeed, using the skin of ferocious beasts to make talisman paper adds a bonus... When will you pass on the second half of the inheritance to me? Can we do it without the Treasure Patterns and Spirit Marks?"
...
City of Black Nirvana.
The Witch King was holding a piece of bronze mirror, mumbling to herself.
Ever since she realized that no matter how she attacked it, the mirror couldn’t be destroyed, the Witch King gave up on force and opted for barter instead.
And since the last transaction, she liked to murmur to the Demon Mirror whenever she had nothing better to do.
It seems she was prepared to try soft tactics since going hard didn’t work.
But Fang Xi was an emotionless Demon Mirror, impervious to both soft and hard tactics, only keen on various Spirit Marks and Treasure Patterns.
However, through her babbling, he learned that this Witch King’s name was ’Danya’.
During this period, Danya did provide some Spirit Marks, and whenever Fang Xi saw ones he hadn’t collected, he was happy to trade, even providing high-power spells and even cultivation methods from the Cultivation World!
The highest among these was a body-refining technique that could develop up to the sixth level of body refinement, comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
After all, Fang Xi had obtained exclusive rights to it and had long since thrown it into the Da Liang World for the Martial Gods to study.
Utilizing it again now wasn’t a problem for him.
Unfortunately, even for the Witch King, Treasure Patterns were precious.
Until now, Danya hadn’t made up her mind to trade with Treasure Patterns again.
At that moment, Danya was caressing the Demon Mirror, her expression showing a trace of worry and fear, "Demon Mirror, Demon Mirror, tell me... how exactly should one confront the Heavenly Demon Catastrophe that comes once every century?"
"???"
Fang Xi was confused, but as he continued to listen, his expression gradually became grave.
It turned out that in this Fragment World, every hundred years, there was a ’Heavenly Demon Catastrophe’!
Countless Sky Demons would descend, killing the Shaman Race indiscriminately and looting resources everywhere.
Even Witch Kings had examples of being besieged to death.
In the hearts of the Shaman Race, the Heavenly Demon Catastrophe was the most terrifying nightmare from the depths of their hearts!
But the more Fang Xi listened, the more he felt something was amiss:
’Wait a minute... the cultivation resources in this Fragment World are so rich, with all kinds of rare herbs and precious ores almost everywhere... Danya easily found the materials for her Wrinkle-Resisting Pills and made several batches, forcibly advancing her Alchemy Skill to the second tier...’
’And the battle system of these Shaman Race seems a bit off... too much of a quick-fix... and beyond the Witch Kings, there seems to be no stronger members of the Shaman Race, hitting a dead end... It’s as if their upper limit had been locked...’
’Then, every hundred years, Sky Demons descend to harvest precious resources and the Shaman Race...’
’This can’t possibly be a high-level secret realm of some Demon Path Sect, can it? Hence the rich resources and the breeding of the Shaman Race, with periodic harvests?’
A speculation suddenly emerged in Fang Xi’s mind, and he even thought it very likely!
’If that’s really the case, you’re truly quite pitiable...’
Looking at the beautiful face of Danya on the other side, Fang Xi mused to himself.