Chapter 183: Chapter 182: Beast Tide (Seeking Monthly Ticket)_1
"Indeed, it is a beast tide!"
Fang Xi looked at this scene, his heart neither sad nor joyful.
After all, he had been psychologically prepared and in the worst-case scenario, he could escape with his life.
Moreover, Baize Fairy City was also prepared.
Boom!
Boom!
Above the city walls, streaks of crimson lightning flashed, easily sweeping through the horde of beasts.
Wherever the flames and lightning passed, even second-order monster beasts could only scream as they turned into charred corpses.
"Bing Fire Divine Thunder?"
Fang Xi looked at the streaks of crimson lightning.
In terms of destructive power, Bing Fire Divine Thunder could be said to be the most lethal among the Five Elements Divine Thunder, far surpassing the likes of Metal Wood Divine Thunder.
And at this moment, how could there be just one section of Divine Thunder above the city walls?
It was practically thousands of thunderbolts firing all at once!
Even the Golden Crowned Thunder Roc in the sky didn’t rashly descend, nor plan to directly withstand these successive waves of bombardment.
Dong dong!
The sound of the Kui Cattle Drum suddenly started.
Ouyang Zhen, dressed in a purple robe, led a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators to the top of the city wall.
Yuan Feihong, standing on a spiritual beast, looked into the distance with a solemn expression.
Luo Gong, on the other hand, seemed a bit eager to try.
"As the beast tide approaches, Baize Fairy City is enforcing martial law, but rest assured, fellow cultivators, Baize Fairy City has the capability to ensure everyone’s safety..."
Ouyang Zhen’s smile was serene, seemingly not the least bit tense. This mood immediately spread, making the lower-ranked cultivators breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, in its history, Baize Fairy City had endured many beast tides without ever being breached.
"Furthermore, our Baize Fairy City is recruiting individual cultivators to contribute to the city’s defense. Early-stage Qi Refining cultivators may earn one battle merit in seven days, mid-stage three battle merits, late-stage six battle merits, Great Perfection ten battle merits... If you are at Foundation Establishment, please discuss in detail with me!"
"After daily settlements, battle merits can be exchanged for Spirit Stones, magic tools, cultivation techniques, Spiritual Pills, and secret skills... The list is here!"
Ouyang Zhen threw out a banner, and as magic power surged, a giant banner over ten zhang in length and width appeared midair.
Lines of text listed various rare resources and their exchange requirements for battle merits, enough to drive any cultivator crazy.
"One battle merit can be exchanged for one lower-grade Spirit Stone..."
"And there are magic tools... even Spiritual Instruments..."
"That’s nothing... Did you see... there are even Foundation Establishment Pills for exchange, ten thousand battle merits for one genuine Foundation Establishment Pill!"
"Not to mention, the materials from the monster beasts killed during the battle still belong to oneself."
Countless individual cultivators went mad.
Where there are heavy rewards, there will be brave cultivators.
Individual cultivators are innately the lowest rung of the Cultivation World, unafraid to use violence for compensation and even seeing killing as commonplace.
In Fang Xi’s view, the cultivators of this world, regardless of age or sex, could be considered mercenaries who also understand healing, weapon-making, scouting, trapping, and ambushing—an all-around soldier king!
And without a doubt, those sects are much like warlords...
Thus battles were almost an annual occurrence, with countless deaths... but that was nothing exceptional.
Cultivators also took a very relaxed view of death.
As long as there was a chance for breakthroughs in their realms, they did not shy away from risking their lives, and it didn’t matter whom they fought for, as long as they were paid on time...
’Well... looking at it that way, even more so...’ he thought.
As Fang Xi was internally commenting, Ruan Xingling transmitted to him using Divine Consciousness, "Fang, look!"
He extended his Divine Consciousness and saw on the list where Ruan Dan was pointing:
"Clear Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill... suitable for Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivators practicing wood, fire, or earth cultivation techniques to break through the mid-stage bottleneck, able to increase the success rate by about thirty percent... worth twenty-five thousand battle merits."
"Indeed, a breakthrough pill for Foundation Establishment is much more expensive than those for Qi Refining," Fang Xi internally commented, while he heard more from Ruan Xingling’s voice transmission, "Fang... this pill is beneficial for both of us, perhaps we should strive to obtain it first!"
He looked at Ruan Xingling and noticed that she seemed eager to make a move.
With her cultivation technique and intellect, as long as she was careful, she could handle second-order low-grade, or even mid-grade, monster beasts without too many issues.
Unfortunately, engaging in perilous battles was not his style.
"Xingling, sorry... I have no intention of joining the fight."
Fang Xi transmitted back using Divine Consciousness and saw a hint of shock on Ruan Xingling’s face.
He then found Luo Gong.
"What, Mr. Fang, you’re not planning to join the fight on the city walls but are instead preparing to accept production-type tasks... Alright then..." Luo Gong seemed surprised but quickly agreed, "The city urgently needs a batch of second-order healing and magic power restoration pills. The battle merits for the pill recipe can be owed for now, and we’ll settle after the battle..."
"Thank you, Luo," Fang Xi expressed gratitude with a fist salute.
He had no desire to go to the battlefield; after all, even with the protection of third-order arrays, there was still some danger.
Handling logistics was enough to support the bloodied cultivators.
In fact, he accepted the task of alchemy to avoid the unfortunate situation where Baize Fairy City, if the battle turned dire, might conscript the originally idle individual cultivators.
...
In the midst of chaos,
Fang Xi returned to his Peach Blossom Pavilion. As for the Pill Tool Pavilion?
It naturally closed its doors for good. After all, with the city in some disorder, Fang Xi felt that the safety of his own people was more important than a mere sum of Spirit Stones.
Besides, with Ruan Xingling heading to the battlefield, he had to take on the alchemy tasks from Fairy City while continuing his Cultivation, leaving no time for a side business.
Afterward, Fang Xi called over Jin Ling and Wei Yixi and instructed them not to go out, to concentrate on their Cultivation and healing... and that was that.
As for Ruan Dan? The woman was still in seclusion, consolidating her Cultivation base.
According to the customs of the Cultivation World, cultivators who were breaking through major realms would not be disturbed unless there was a catastrophic event.
...
In the blink of an eye, several months passed.
It could be said that the cultivators had adapted well to the atmosphere of war.
With the protection of a third-tier Great Array, no Monster beasts could break through the array and city walls to enter the city and kill people.
In the first few months, the interior of Baize Immortal City was actually quite calm, and the prices of Monster materials plummeted.
Fang Xi spent his days regularly Cultivating and occasionally completing alchemy tasks from Fairy City.
Because he was quite familiar with the methods of refining various Monster materials, his success rate in making pills was extremely high, allowing him to skim off a fair amount of materials and save a lot of time.
Even Luo Gong hinted that if Fang Xi was willing to sign a long-term contract, he could provide him with a complete set of materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill to try alchemy.
However, after reading through the contract, Fang Xi realized that once he became Baize Immortal City’s alchemist, it would be difficult to leave, and he declined.
To think of binding him just by allowing him to try making a Foundation Establishment Pill was far too naive.
In the past, he wanted to join Baize Immortal City because he lacked cultivation methods and his power was insufficient just after Foundation Establishment, but now, times have changed, and so has his mindset.
It was also because the war was going well that Baize Immortal City did not forcibly conscript Individual Cultivators, making Fang Xi feel that his earlier decision was perhaps mistaken.
...
"Come on, Xingling, this cup is for you!"
Ruan Xingling, who rarely left the city walls for rest, was sitting with Fang Xi under a Peach Blossom Tree, who had managed to steal some leisure time.
Fang Xi cheerfully poured a cup of Green Bamboo Wine for Ruan Xingling, "Congratulations to the Fairy Taoling of Thousand Island Lake, your name has now echoed through Baize Immortal City!"
Ruan Xingling’s ’Mysterious Sound Skills’, a range-type sonic wave attack, were useful for clearing out lesser foes, and she herself was no slouch in combat. In this time on the city walls, she had made a formidable reputation for herself, and the old moniker ’Fairy Taoling’ spread quickly. It was said she had garnered many admirers.
Well, if Fang Xi were to go up to the walls now, he might even face the jealousy of others...
"Fang, you’re teasing again. How can Xingling compare to you..."
Ruan Xingling’s cheeks tinged with a light blush, seemingly with a trace of grievance.
The day they faced Situ Jia, she knew that even with all her might, she couldn’t best the Demon Cultivator.
But what became of him, there was no need to say.
At that moment, she realized that Fang Xi was much stronger than he let on, his combat prowess far surpassing his peers – yet for some reason, he disliked fame and cultivated cautiously.
"In this period, just the second-tier Monster Kings killed add up to more than thirty, with only two Foundation Establishment cultivators seriously injured... countless first-tier Monster beasts perished or got injured..."
After some light-hearted banter, they turned to more serious matters.
"In reality, no matter how many Monster beasts die, it’s good for the Monster King... Although Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range is rich in resources, excessive reproduction of Monster beasts ultimately necessitates migration... As for whether they die or conquer new territories, it doesn’t really matter."
Fang Xi sighed.
"It’s said that today, another cultivator received a second-tier Demon Pill..."
Ruan Xingling suddenly switched topics, "Xingling also killed several second-tier Monster beasts, but unfortunately, wasn’t so lucky..."
After all, those Monster beasts capable of nurturing Demon Pills were very few.
"Hehe... Actually, I don’t want to refine Foundation Establishment Pills..."
Fang Xi knew that Luo Gong had let out the terms offered to him.
But frankly, he really didn’t want his skill in ’pill refining for Foundation Establishment’ to be known openly.
He remembered Chen Ping’s lesson well.
The pill masters of Baize Immortal City, as enviable as they seemed, were not exactly free...
"That’s a pity..."
Ruan Xingling was unbothered and changed the subject, "In the history of Baize Immortal City, the shortest beast tide lasted eight months, while the longest lasted thirteen years... Ruan Xingling estimates that this beast tide is a medium to small scale one in historical terms. Maybe it will be completely settled in a year or two... We could stockpile some Monster materials now and sell them when the prices rise later..."
"Ruan Xingling indeed has a business mind..."
Fang Xi applauded with a smile.
It was something he had also thought of.
In reality, numerous Cultivators had the same idea, but few had the capability to actually do it.
After all, stockpiling a large quantity of Monster materials and storing them for a long period requires a significant amount of idle Spirit Stones.
Then, there’s the risk of being robbed or killed during storage and trade...
Truly, there weren’t many forces capable of undertaking such a venture.
Yet, Fang Xi certainly could!
"This trade can indeed earn Spirit Stones..."
After musing for a while, Fang Xi expressed his support.
After all, it was the perfect opportunity to seamlessly sell off the materials he had accrued from Great Liang, thereby avoiding a lot of trouble.
Heaven have mercy, he had always had an abundance of Monster materials on hand but never a good opportunity to sell them.
Now, at last, there was an official source for them, which could prevent many complications.