Chapter 198: Chapter 197: Core Formation Secret Skill (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance!)_1
The Song Family, as the foremost noble family of cultivation in Yue Country, possessed a vast collection of treasures.
And on the last Foundation Establishment cultivator, there was a high probability of encountering a talisman treasure.
"Speed!"
Song Qing looked at Fang Xi as if he were looking at a dead man.
Next, the grey talisman in his hand quickly erupted with intense spiritual radiance, transforming into a small grey sword that, with two or three-tenths the might of a magical artifact, sped forth to pierce its target!
"Go!"
Fang Xi had already commanded his second-order turtle puppet to guard him. He now withdrew his Divine Consciousness and let the second-order puppet meet the grey small sword.
Bang!
Under one strike, the second-order puppet instantly turned to ash.
Fang Xi’s expression was exceedingly solemn; taking advantage of this brief moment, he also drew out his Vermilion Bird Ring.
Not only that, but his face flushed red as he astonishingly activated the ’Sky Demon Dismemberment Skill’!
Inside his body, where some magic power had already been depleted, strands of essence blood and primordial essence converged above the deep pool of magic power, forming droplets of liquid magic power—about twenty or thirty in total!
Using the Sky Demon Dismemberment Skill could instantly boost the magic power by roughly thirty to forty percent!
Fang Xi, who currently had a maximum of seventy-five droplets of liquid magic power and was also a body of the Martial God with rich vitality that could withstand devastation, suddenly gained almost thirty droplets of liquid magic power!
Although this surge in magic power would disappear immediately afterward and severely deplete his primordial energy, Fang Xi’s current strength in magic power was nearly comparable to that of an average late Foundation Establishment cultivator!
At this moment, he infused all the abruptly increased magic power into the talisman in his hand.
Chirp chirp!
A mingled mass of vermillion and yellow flames appeared.
Within the vermillion-yellow flames, suddenly there emitted a clear bird-like cry.
Next, a circular ring flew out, instantly ensnaring the grey small sword and rendering it incapable of movement.
"Vermilion Bird Ring?!"
Song Qing was shocked and blurted out, "Are you from the Mysterious Heaven Sect?!"
His small sword talisman had already been used several times and was no match for the fully charged, brand new Vermilion Bird Ring.
Within just two exchanges, the Vermilion Bird’s fire exhausted the magic power of the sword, reducing it back to a grey talisman which then crumbled to ash!
After an exclamation from Song Qing, he swiped a ring on his hand and conjured more than a dozen second-order talismans!
Yi Wood Divine Thunder, Bing Fire Divine Thunder, Fierce Fire Golden Blade, Xuan Yin True Water...
He crazily consumed his magic power to activate one after another second-order, even high-quality talismans. Under a barrage of explosive deluge, Fang Xi’s puppets were blown to pieces, scattering in different directions.
Song Qing then spurred on his Purple Yunzhu Bracelet and, without the slightest intention of fighting, pinched his fingers together and with a flush across his face, transformed into a ray of blood light and fled!
"Demon Path escape technique?"
Fang Xi too pinched his fingers, essence blood emerging from his fingertips: "Blood Combustion Escape Skill!"
Whoosh!
In the next instant, he collected both the puppet and the talismanic flying sword, transforming as well into a blood-colored rainbow that relentlessly pursued Song Qing.
The two of them, one chasing and the other fleeing, instantly escaped over a hundred li.
"Have you gone mad?"
Song Qing swept his Divine Consciousness backward, catching sight of Fang Xi employing the Blood Combustion Escape Skill and cursed furiously.
He could not understand why—he had used such a technique that greatly harmed primordial energy in order to escape for his life.
The other party bore no life-and-death grudge against him; why take such drastic measures?
Song Qing also had not anticipated that a seemingly insignificant elder Foundation Establishment cultivator of past years could possess such strength, pushing him, the young head of the Song Family, into a dire situation!
The other’s magic power was almost comparable to someone in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and the escaping light was even faster than his own!
The distance between them continued to narrow.
"Aaahh... you’re forcing my hand!"
Song Qing’s transmission via Divine Consciousness was ferocious.
In the next instant, he abruptly stopped his escape light and, with each finger holding a Thunder Pearl, violently cast them backward: "Today, I will take you down with me!"
Fang Xi’s expression remained unchanged as the Green Barley Sword flew out, flipping aside the two genuine pearls in the mix.
Boom! Boom!
Terrifying explosions occurred all around, while the remaining Thunder Pearls struck the Five Elements Shield Armor and could only disintegrate into dust, proving to be fakes!
Under his powerful Divine Consciousness, these little tricks of Song Qing were futile and only exposed his own weakness.
"Primordial Demon Stab!"
Fang Xi’s brow furrowed, and the remaining two dark stabs flew out.
Song Qing grunted as a jade pendant around his neck suddenly showed cracks before his attempt to flee slowed.
Following that, he was hit by a Martial God arm stretching several zhang in length, and was firmly slapped into the ground.
"Go!"
Fang Xi pointed at the Green Barley Sword, its Metal Spirit Pattern radiating brilliantly, turning into a stream of green-golden light that knocked the Purple Yunzhu Bracelet away.
Chirp chirp!
From within the Vermilion Bird Ring, a radiant phoenix burst forth, wielding endless flames, and flew towards Song Qing.
Song Qing felt helpless and could only throw out a pitch-black small shield, which was also a high-grade Spiritual Instrument. It barely tangled with the Vermilion Bird Ring but soon became riddled with holes.
"Secret Skill·Mixed Origin Without Limit!"
Boom!
Behind Fang Xi, the body of the Martial God emerged, his numerous arms spread like a Thousand-Handed Guanyin, raining down densely and pounding on Song Qing’s protective shield.
Crack!
Accompanied by a grating sound of shattering, Song Qing’s protective Spiritual Shield broke in an instant.
Then, Fang Xi, controlling the Gold Dragon Scissors, made a sudden piercing thrust, stabbing into Song Qing’s Dantian Qi Ocean...
"Ah!"
Song Qing had just let out a wail when Fang Xi pressed down on his head and stuffed a Monster Tree seed into his mouth.
...
For a major power, the true secret treasures weren’t even carried on the body, such as within the highest tier cultivation arts. Some key points wouldn’t be explicitly written down but passed down verbally, to ensure absolute secrecy.
As the Young Head of the Song Family, a force that had been at the pinnacle of Yue Country for several hundred years, how many secrets could Song Qing know?
The relationships between higher-ranking cultivators, along with Cultivation Secret Skills, resource points...
These were the real treasures of the Song Family!
They might not even be included in the jade slips.
Therefore, Fang Xi chose to turn Song Qing into a Puppet, to thoroughly probe the various secrets of Yue Country!
Moments later, the green light in Fang Xi’s eyes faded away.
He manipulated Song Qing, making him take off the blue ring he was wearing and hand it over to himself. Then he retrieved treasures like the Purple Yunzhu Bracelet and the jade pendant around his neck before stowing Song Qing into his Storage Bag. After cleaning up the traces of the battlefield, he left nonchalantly.
...
As night fell,
in a temporarily opened dongfu,
the night pearls embedded in the walls emitted a brilliant radiance.
Fang Xi suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing in his pupils: "So that’s how it is... This Song Qing even wanted to provoke a great war between the two countries’ cultivation worlds. Quite audacious. If he had succeeded, how many cultivators would have died or been injured?"
Song Qing’s memory fragments were very chaotic, and it took Fang Xi some time to sort through them and clarify some matters.
The ring he had taken from Song Qing was a Storage Ring named ’Vast Sea Ring,’ with a considerably large internal space.
Now after refining it, with a gentle tip, a pile of colorful Spirit Stones appeared.
The lowest-value were the low-grade Spirit Stones, only over a thousand pieces, followed by the mid-grade Spirit Stones useful even to Foundation Establishment cultivators, totaling over fifty pieces, and finally, even a high-grade Spirit Stone overflowing with spiritual light!
"Nearly 20,000 Spirit Stones just like that? Goodness, the bounty is truly substantial," Fang Xi carefully stored the high-grade Spirit Stone, feeling that coming here to ambush Song Qing was an extremely correct decision.
"Even if it meant consuming nearly ten years of lifespan, it was worth it!"
Although he was not hurt in the killing of Song Qing, using the ’Sky Demon Dismemberment Skills’ and ’Blood Combustion Escape Skill’ was immensely draining for his Primordial Energy. Even though bodily injuries could be swiftly healed by the Martial God’s body employing Return To Origin Secret Skills and aided by Spiritual Pills, the consumed lifespan was not something that could be easily recovered.
Luckily, he had a long lifespan, and in the future, he could plant trees to extend it, so he didn’t feel too troubled by it.
Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness entered the Vast Sea Ring, inspecting various Spiritual Objects, Spiritual Instruments, and jade slips... He couldn’t help but gasp: "Such a rich haul... Truly befitting the Young Head of the Song Family..."
He thought of the opponent’s withered appearance and how the Talisman Sword that was left with not much Magic Power, and he mused, "This Song Qing must have been in continuous magical combat recently, depleting much of the power of his Talismans, one-time magical instruments, and even his own Essence Blood... Otherwise, he could’ve performed several levels better today. A pity... that’s the end of a rat crossing the street."
Fang Xi’s Divine Consciousness swept through and soon took out a jade slip from the Storage Bag.
This jade slip contained the ’Longevity Skills’, and according to Song Qing’s memories, it was even the original version!
After meticulous inspection, he found it was identical to what he had learned, and he exhaled in relief.
As for the other jade slips, the most valuable were a third-tier ’Howling Celestial Wolf’ Array Skill Inheritance and the top-tier cultivation art.
This top-tier cultivation art called ’Melting Gold Spell’ was suitable for cultivators with Metal and Fire Spiritual Roots. It was divided into ten layers of Qi Refining, three layers of Foundation Establishment, three layers of Core Formation, and also the Infant Condensing method, allowing cultivation all the way to the Nascent Soul stage!
"Unfortunately, it does not match my attributes..."
Among the other treasures, the most valuable magical instrument was the Exotic Treasure ’Purple Yunzhu Bracelet’, which Fang Xi had already claimed and found easy to refine due to its nature as a treasure.
This treasure was useful in both offense and defense, with power that even surpassed a high-grade Spiritual Instrument, causing Fang Xi to cherish it greatly, feeling like he could part with the Five Elements Shield Armor.
The rest was a jade pendant with many cracks, likely having a protective effect on the Sea of Consciousness.
And that high-grade Spiritual Instrument shield? It was already destroyed by the Vermilion Bird Ring.
"Apart from these, the most important spirit materials..."
Fang Xi flipped the blue Storage Ring and took out a pitch-black wooden box from it, which was sealed with several Talismans.
After tearing them off one by one, he saw a piece of a Spiritual Tree’s root sealed inside the box, which was slightly charred and emitted a peculiar fragrance.
"Fourth-tier Spiritual Tree—the root of a Phoenix Perching Wutong Tree!"
"Ancestor Song, truly a genius with a gift from heaven!"
Recalling a particular memory fragment of Song Qing, Fang Xi couldn’t help but express his admiration.
After the Song Family acquired the ’Longevity Skills’, Ancestor Song, who was inclined towards a Fire Spiritual Root, couldn’t cultivate it at all.
However, this person actually found another way, deriving from the ’Longevity Skills’ an auxiliary Core Formation method!
That is, bypassing the limitation of needing a wood attribute cultivation art to cultivate the ’Longevity Skills’ through the Demon Path, cultivating the ’Longevity Skills’ in reverse to accumulate Yi Wood Qi, and finally, using wood to enhance fire, feeding the ’Melting Gold Spell’ and thereby potentially increasing the Core Formation success rate by ten to twenty percent!
According to Ancestor Song’s view, the ’Yi Wood Magic Body’ would take a thousand years to achieve, which naturally couldn’t be waited for.
But if one could endure a hundred years of harsh cultivation to refine the ’Green Wood Spirit Body’ and then turn it into pure Yi Wood Qi to kindle the ’Melting Gold Spell’, it would at least increase the chances of forming a core by ten to twenty percent!