Chapter 204: Chapter 203: Second Stage Taisui (Seeking Subscriptions)_1
"What... what’s happening?"
Liu Ruyan opened her eyes, feeling extremely weak, "I still need to fight... Where’s that detestable tree person?"
Her expression was dazed, as if she still didn’t know what had happened.
"I..."
Zhang Mingding tore off a withered vine from his body and discovered that his flesh had split open at some point, already in a state of serious injury.
Zhou Tong had been silent all along, even shivering with fear.
Demon!
It was too strange; they had been unwittingly ensnared here.
If it weren’t for Fang Xi, this time the Martial God Sect would have likely been completely annihilated.
"Enough talk, let’s leave this place at once!"
Fang Xi reached into his Storage Ring, and flags flew out in rapid succession, their spiritual light brilliant, clearly no ordinary objects.
Although Great Liang had no Spiritual Veins, Spirit Stones could be inlaid on the Array Disk, replacing the function of Spiritual Veins.
As he was setting up the formation, that Ancestral Demon Tree at the core area began to change!
A conspicuous charred mark appeared on its trunk.
And the entire massive tree trembled, as countless roots were pulled from the ground, transforming into a towering black giant, taking steps toward Fang Xi and the others!
Thud, thud!
Doom, doom!
"Sect Leader..."
Zhang Mingding looked at the approaching Ancestral Demon Tree, his forehead breaking out in a cold sweat, "It’s... it’s coming..."
"Go!"
By that time, Fang Xi had also placed the last Array Flag, taking out one top-grade Spirit Stone and two mid-grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring and embedding them in the Array Disk.
He had originally planned to use just three mid-grade Spirit Stones, but seeing how bizarre this Demon Tree had become, he decided to use up part of his reserves.
Buzz, buzz!
Countless Array Flags came together to form three grand Array Gates, which then converged on the Array Disk, coalescing into Treasure Patterns!
The Earth-shaking Array reappeared!
The Earth-shaking Treasure Mark turned into a hundred-zhang-long yellow glow, like a massive earthy dragon charging forward unstoppably towards the Demon Tree’s Demon Realm!
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground shook and the heavens trembled, the earth split apart...
The entire city within the Demon Realm quivered and swayed...
And the advancing Ancestral Demon Tree was breaking into numerous branches, as if struck by some heavy blow!
The Demon Realm was torn asunder, revealing a massive wound, with sunlight from the outside world spilling in.
"Let’s go!"
Fang Xi turned into an Escape Light, charging straight for the opening. In flight, he saw the Demon Tree also being torn apart, filled with the realization that the Demon Realm was actually part of the Ancestral Demon Tree. The Green Barley Sword flew out, caught a huge black branch in midair.
This large piece of wood came from the violent motion of the body of the Demon Tree itself.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Outside, under the sunlight.
Fang Xi rode the sword out, quickly disappearing a hundred li away.
Behind him, three Martial God True Bodies unfurled their wings, swiftly following along.
However, at this time, Liu Ruyan and the others’ bodies of the Martial God had become much smaller, appearing listless and even stunted.
This was proof of over-consumption of their Power of Qi and Blood!
After they left, the massive black Demon Realm was even dissipating...
When the black fog cleared, among the broken ruins, some survivors looked up blankly, gazing at the sun.
Fang Xi did not know that the Demon Tree, being only quasi-third order, was heavily injured by his Vermilion Bird Ring and Earth-shaking Array.
It even abandoned its unfinished flesh meal and fled the place...
...
"That should be enough..."
A hundred li away, Fang Xi brought down the Escape Light, slowly waiting.
This time, in his exploration of the Ancestral Demon Tree’s Demon Realm, he had obtained four seeds, one of which came from a three-headed monster beast, and the other three from Zhang Mingding and the others.
Beyond that, there was also a huge branch from the Ancestral Demon Tree!
"The harvest is quite good, no need to initiate a backup plan to plant my own Demon Tree seeds..."
If the Ancestral Demon Tree was considered the highest grade, then Fang Xi felt the spawn of his own Demon Tree should be one level lower, and the seeds produced by its spawn would degrade by two levels.
Rustle, rustle!
Before long, a gust of wind blew, and the three Martial Gods landed as well.
"Sect Leader... this time, our Martial God Sect really suffered a heavy loss..."
Liu Ruyan glared ferociously in the direction of the Demon Tree, "Once I’ve transformed the True Gang into pills, I must take revenge!"
"As you please..."
Fang Xi was somewhat speechless, this woman was indeed a bit crazy.
"This... might be useful for the Sect Leader?"
Zhang Mingding took out a piece of the branch, smiling, "I also took one when fleeing for my life after seeing the Sect Leader collect some..."
"Hmm, not bad, I’ll count a great merit for you. Your Power of Qi and Blood has suffered a significant loss, take a big pill to recover for now..."
Fang Xi took it and a flicker of delight crossed his face as he tossed a ’Beast Blood Pill’ over.
"Thank you, Sect Leader!"
Zhang Mingding took the Beast Blood Pill but did not consume it; instead, he treasured it and stored it away.
"Sect leader, you indeed still have quite a few great pills hidden away!"
Upon witnessing this scene, Liu Ruyan’s eyes lit up, "I also took a section of the Demon Tree branch... Can I exchange them now?"
Seeing this, Fang Xi nodded directly, "Including your previous contributions, you’ll get two pills!"
Only Zhou Tong was poorly positioned and dared not touch the body of the trouble-inviting Ancestral Demon Tree, leaving him empty-handed, and he could only smile bitterly upon seeing this scene.
Unlike Zhang Mingding, Liu Ruyan immediately swallowed a Beast Blood Pill as soon as she got it, her face flushing with color, "This is the feeling... the power of Qi and Blood soaring... If I keep on amplifying it, one day... I will achieve Qi Blood Holding Pill!"
After consuming the pill, the Gang Qi around her surged, seeming to have recovered greatly, and she looked at Zhang Mingding with a touch of disdain in her eyes, "We Martial Gods, when we have pills, must expedite the enhancement of our own strength, you see... that’s no good..."
Zhang Mingding’s face revealed a polite and slightly awkward smile, giving no response.
A great pill might only replenish his Qi and Blood, but if given to a Grandmaster, it could potentially create another Martial God.
His own losses could be slowly recuperated over time, so why bother?
Moreover, these past few days, he had exchanged several body refining techniques through his merits. Although he was unable to cultivate them, he had substantial insights.
He always felt that so-called Qi Blood Holding Pill and True Gang Transformation Pill... might not be achieved simply by amplifying Qi and Blood.
But as for what lay ahead, he was also very bewildered in his heart...
"Alright, after we return this time, we will compensate the families of the fallen Martial Gods and recuperate well... Additionally, we must closely monitor the movements of this Ancestral Demon Tree..."
Fang Xi felt that behind the ’Demon’ of the Da Liang World, there seemed to be some hidden secrets.
But with his current low cultivation, he had no intention of investigating.
He was merely preparing to track the movements of this Demon to leave a lead for the future...
...
Dragon Fish Island.
A plump, white, and round lump of meat was lounging lazily on the ground, too sluggish to even roll around.
"Taisui... I’m counting on you again."
Fang Xi looked at the Taisui he had brought back from Great Liang, a smile crossing his face.
This Taisui had been cultivated to the upper tier of the first rank in his hands, then, fearing exposure, he had released it back into Great Liang to roam free.
Now, to restart the planting process, it was natural to bring it back.
"I’ve had people plant second-rank Dragon Scale Fine Rice, and you’re indeed in for a treat..."
Stroking the large lump of meat before him, Fang Xi felt quite sentimental.
The first significant cultivation resource in his life had been accumulated thanks to this lump of meat.
In terms of affection, it even surpassed that Dead Salted Fish.
"It’s also time for you to break through to the second rank, isn’t it?"
Fang Xi murmured softly, his hands revealing two Demon Pills.
These were obviously acquired through mobilizing the Martial God Sect’s men, finding a Monster King in Great Liang, taking it to Dragon Fish Island for the breakthrough, and then slaughtering it using the Yi Wood Divine Thunder Formation.
Although he had reaped substantial rewards during this period, two of the eight second-rank puppets had been damaged in battle and needed replenishment.
In passing, he also obtained two Demon Pills.
In the outside world, even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage would be envious, and second-rank Demon Pills worth risking life and limb for Qi Refining consummate cultivators, seemed to Fang Xi just ordinary items.
He no longer lacked Spirit Stones, nor was he in the mood to concoct Foundation Establishment Pills to sell.
For the greater tree-planting scheme, it was better to feed the Taisui.
"Eat up!"
With a flick of his hand, Fang Xi tossed the two Demon Pills onto Taisui.
The large lump of meat wriggled rapidly, digesting the two pills, its Demon Qi continually intensifying...
And then... that was it!
It was still a first-rank Monster Beast but had reached the peak; just shy of a sliver away from breaking through to the second rank!
"Uh..."
Fang Xi was momentarily speechless, "I originally thought that Dead Salted Fish had poor aptitude... I didn’t expect something even worse was waiting here..."
...
The Azure horn Fish Dragon he resented was happily swishing its tail in the lake, creating waves that soaked Yan Hongxue on the shore...
Yan Hongxue looked at the Azure horn Fish Dragon, huffily grabbing a fishing net, yet not daring to act, she could only bear it...
...
"First-rank Taisui Meat, though barely usable and self-sustainable... the time and efficiency are just not sufficient..."
Fang Xi looked at the plant Demon before him with a bit of a headache.
After thinking it through, he touched his Storage Ring and took out a jade bottle.
He opened it and poured out a blue pill with gray marks.
Foundation Establishment Pill!
This was the only low-quality Foundation Establishment Pill he had left, as he had nothing he wanted to exchange for Spiritual Objects lately, keeping it on hand.
"Cultivators eat Spiritual Pills, so Monster Beasts should be able to eat them too, right? After all, they are made from Demon Pills..."
"Even if it doesn’t work, it’s no big deal, it’s like feeding a dog..."
With that thought, Fang Xi stopped hesitating, flicked his finger, and shot the Foundation Establishment Pill onto the Taisui.
Boom!
The white Taisui wriggled, swallowing the Foundation Establishment Pill, and it seemed to finally break through some boundary. The Demon Qi on its body quickly grew more intense...
In a blink of an eye, the Taisui, which was originally the size of a room, began to swell... almost like a mountain of flesh!
At the same time, clear golden patterns emerged on its surface.
A fragrance like a blend of Spirit Ganoderma and Ginseng wafted from Taisui, causing Fang Xi to swallow involuntarily, "It seems... it has become more delicious!"
He did not let his guard down, released his Divine Consciousness, and thoroughly inspected Taisui inside and out, "It hasn’t even developed Spiritual Wisdom? Nor does it show any sign of resistance; could this truly be a plant Demon?!"