Chapter 209: Chapter 208: Little Green Dragon Soup (Request for Monthly Tickets)_1
The Little Green Dragon Soup was delicious, made mainly with the fins, tails, and bones of the Little Green Dragon, and it was enriched with a variety of Spirit Medicines. It was beneficial to Foundation Establishment Cultivators in enhancing their magic power.
Alas, Fang Xi’s cultivation had already reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and drinking a pot of "Little Green Dragon Soup" could only roughly equate to one or two months of meditation and Qi Refining.
"This soup is for you guys..."
He glanced at Xiahou Ying and Yan Hongxue, who were serving on both sides, and casually awarded the remaining "Little Green Dragon Soup" to them.
Both of these female cultivators had reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining early on. With the assistance of the spiritual energy from the Little Green Dragon Soup, it was quite possible that they could break through the bottleneck of the later stage of Qi Refining.
"Thank you, young master!"
Xiahou Ying and Yan Hongxue happily accepted and, after taking the Little Green Dragon Soup, they soon excused themselves back to their rooms to sit down and refine the spiritual energy.
After all, this was a spiritual dish meant for Foundation Establishment Cultivators and was somewhat too potent for them.
Moreover, such an opportunity was rare and must be seized.
Once the two maids left, Fang Xi continued to enjoy his meal.
The Little Green Dragon’s skeleton was made into Azure Dragon Soup, and the big chunks of fish meat were turned into thinly sliced fish.
The slices of fish were crystal clear, complemented by various sauces, and each held a unique flavor.
Fang Xi sipped on some Peach Blossom Brew and bit into a piece of fish meat, relishing the cool sensation of spiritual energy spreading refreshingly in his mouth, and he smiled contentedly, "This, this is life..."
...
After getting his fill of food and wine, Fang Xi strolled out of the Evergreen Pavilion, walking alone under the Monster Tree.
By now, the Monster Tree had already grown to more than ten zhang high, and even the "Yimu Divine Thunder Array" couldn’t hide it, as it could be seen from afar with its grand canopy.
Fang Xi had only told others that the tree was the Array Eye of the formations arranged on the island and strictly prohibited any Cultivator from getting close.
Of course, no one dared to risk infuriating the Island Master and test the might of the Yimu Divine Thunder Array.
Sometimes, telling part of the truth is more deceptive than a lie!
"A hundred years in cultivation, and half of my old friends have gone..."
Fang Xi sighed, went under the Monster Tree, first fed a large amount of Spirit Fish and Spirit Rice to Taisui, and then cut off some fragrant Taisui Meat to feed the Monster Tree.
He had tasted this second-stage Taisui Meat as well, and indeed, it was very delicious with a flavor that surpassed ordinary second-stage Monster Beast Meat, a true delicacy in the Mortal World.
’When I reach my hundredth birthday, I can cut a few dozen jin of Taisui Meat, pair it with Little Green Dragon Soup, and treat the guests...’
If he could raise the first Little Green Dragon, naturally he could raise a second and third one...
Fang Xi was quite confident about this.
If there wasn’t enough time... then he could let the Azure Horn Fish Dragon release some blood. As a member of the Monster Clan awakening the Flood Dragon’s bloodline, Daqing’s blood would definitely stimulate the Green Jade Carp to advance...
"I almost forgot about the important matters..."
Having thought things through, Fang Xi took out the black ’Green Wood Seal’.
This seal was the size of a child’s fist, perfectly square, with blood-red patterns on the body of the seal, while the handle was blurred, with only eight simple carving traces.
"Treasure Planting Jue!"
He recited the incantations and mental methods of the "Treasure Planting Jue", constantly making hand signs. Then suddenly, he bit his tongue tip and spat a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the Black Wood Stamp.
Phew!
Surrounded by a ring of blood light, the Black Wood Stamp greedily devoured a large amount of Green Wood Longevity Skill’s magic power, the blood-red patterns on its surface squirming as they absorbed all the blood light.
"Go!"
As Fang Xi issued the final magic spell, the Black Wood Stamp fell onto the trunk of the Demon Tree.
Crack!
A crevice appeared on the trunk of the Demon Tree, as if a tree hollow had opened, swallowing the Black Wood Stamp inside.
When the Black Wood Stamp disappeared, the hollow on the trunk closed up again, seeming very peculiar.
"It is only because I have refined this Spiritual Root to a point where my Divine Consciousness is unified with it as if it were a part of myself... Otherwise, planting the treasure within the tree this smoothly would definitely not have been possible..."
"Now that the Demon Tree is nurturing the Black Wood Stamp, it is as if my clone is refining a magical artifact, which has its own profound mysteries..."
"According to ’Treasure Planting Jue’, the most crucial aspect of this wood refining method is time. If it’s only a few decades, the magical artifact won’t have much power. It usually takes at least a century to see significant effects... But the growth of the Demon Tree is extraordinary, and as long as there is enough Flesh and Blood, one year can be equivalent to tens or hundreds of years for an ordinary Spiritual Tree... So after thousands or tens of thousands of years of ’Treasure Planting,’ how powerful will my life-bound magical artifact become?"
A hint of anticipation crossed Fang Xi’s face as he extended his hand to touch the ferocious trunk of the Demon Tree, silently feeling something.
Suddenly, his face showed joy, "Open!"
The next moment, black mists rose all around Dragon Fish Island and mingled with the gray mists of the ’Profound Wood Formation.’
This time, however, the black mist overwhelmed the gray, creating a shade of grayish black.
The entire Dragon Fish Island became faintly visible within this layer of grayish-black mist...
Unexplainable if Void was being moved and transformed... yet not a single Cultivator could perceive it!
"Growing close to ten years, the Demon Realm of the Monster Tree has made significant progress..."
"’Nine Nether Profound Wood Array’, it’s finally achieved Small Accomplishments..."
A flicker of happiness crossed Fang Xi’s face, "At this moment, this Great Array is definitely ranked as a near-third-tier, deserving the title ’Forbidden Array’... Plus, with me presiding in the center, even a Core Formation ancestor would have a hard time... uh, never mind..."
He thought of how the Song Family was also protected by a tier three Great Array, supervised by an Array Master, and yet they were annihilated by the Mysterious Heaven Sect, which seemed quite inauspicious. Therefore, he decided against planting flags.
"However, I am stronger than the Song Family!"
Fang Xi thought for a moment and touched his Storage Ring.
Whirring sounds!
Wooden Puppets emerged one after another, all with lifeless eyes and root-like tendrils protruding from their seven orifices.
For the sake of refining Foundation Establishment Pills, the materials from various Monster Kings he had killed were almost used up.
But then, for Wei Yixi’s Foundation Establishment and for Taisui’s promotion, he had gathered Monster Pills twice more in the Great Liang World.
Every Demon Pill taken out meant at least several tier two Monster Beasts had lost their lives!
This was even based on the premise that the Monster Kings of the Great Liang World had unique talents, making the output rate relatively high!
Thus, Fang Xi had accumulated quite a lot of tier two Monster materials in his hands.
Piecemeal, he could muster up to nearly thirty tier two Puppet soldiers, among which seven were main combat Puppets, and the remaining twenty-three were indirectly controlled via the Monster Tree, moving in a rigid and stiff manner.
Well, among the beasts, there were also two human Puppets with vine masks, Song Qing and Huaheng, who stuck out like huskies in a pack of wolves.
Hiss, hiss!
A giant python with a ghastly wound on its upper body hissed as it was suddenly caught by vines dropping from the Monster Tree, hanging mid-air.
Then came a beast with fiery red fur and a lion-like appearance...
The third head, the fourth head...
A total of twenty-three Puppets were suspended under the Monster Tree, a sight sufficient to send shivers down any cultivator who witnessed it.
However, all of this was concealed by Fang Xi using the "Nine Nether Profound Wood Array," and if one were to look from Dragon Fish Island, they would only see the canopy of the Monster Tree, unable to discern the trunk and vines clearly.
And if one were to peer from the high skies outside, they would discover an array shaped like a huge grey bowl, turned upside down, enveloping the entire Dragon Fish Island!
"Hmm, after becoming a world of its own, one must still open a void daily to welcome the light of the sun and moon... it’s a bit of a hassle,"
Fang Xi pondered: "In the legends, a true Blessed Land of the Cave Sky is self-sufficient internally, with its own sun, moon, stars, and spiritual energy, forming a cycle of everything... I am still far from that step."
"Those who can create their own realm can be considered Earth Immortals, right?"
"Once inside, immune to all laws, where karma is fulfilled?"
"Uh... Indeed, I still need to work much harder."
Having forcefully withdrawn his mind, Fang Xi looked thoughtfully at the twenty or so Puppets.
He followed the less trodden path of wood Puppeteer, and in terms of controlling quantity, he far exceeded typical Puppet Masters.
To be precise, it wasn’t he who controlled the Puppets but the Monster Tree!
Only the seven main combat Puppets, which had Divine Consciousness imbued in them, were truly under his control.
"These tier two Puppets, defending the Monster Tree itself, are somewhat lacking in strength... After all, they are too rigid and stiff..."
"Uh... expecting a tree to have flexible thoughts is indeed asking too much from a tree."
Fang Xi couldn’t help but smile wryly.
He looked at these Puppets, his eyes ablaze with ambition: "The idea of using Puppets to form a Battle Array should be feasible..."
Fang Xi recalled the Song Family’s tier three — Sky Wolf Howling Moon Array!
"If this array is disassembled and tier two Monster Beasts are used to act as Array Eyes, combining the force of thirty Puppets... it should be possible to arrange parts of the Array that can summon Sky Wolf Phantoms..."
"Yet there are many difficulties, such as refining tier three Array Flags and Array Disks... and exploring how to deploy an array in motion..."
"However, if it’s just for defense, movement is not necessary, just the ability to activate the Array Flags is sufficient..."
"By then, with Nine Nether Profound Wood Array protecting Dragon Fish Island, even if a Core Formation elder tries to force their way in, they’ll meet the ’Sky Wolf Howling Moon Array’... and maybe, used in combination with a forbidden formation, we could even trap the enemy?"
"In terms of defensive combat, Array Masters really cheat... No, I’m the one who’s cheating."
"Within Yue Country, there are very few who surpass me in the array path, and perhaps also in the Puppet path... but when it comes to the Way of Fusion between Arrays and Puppets, there should no longer be anyone stronger than me."
"Those tier two Puppet Masters couldn’t possibly control so many tier two Puppets; their Divine Consciousness wouldn’t be sufficient, it would be more appropriate for a tier three Puppet Master..."
"Sigh... Planting trees for so long, I finally feel settled."
Fang Xi showed a slight smile.
At the ripe age of a hundred, he finally had a stable foundation in Yue Country.
Even the Mysterious Heaven Sect could not take it away!
"Indeed... planting trees to the end, will everything be at hand?"
"Recently, Foundation Establishment completion means nothing to me anymore, the only big hurdle left is Core Formation..."
Fang Xi looked in the direction of Maple Leaf Island and stroked his chin.
For this centennial celebration, he did not plan to make grand arrangements, but only to invite a few close friends to enjoy dishes made with Spirit Rice.
I wonder... Will Ruan Xingling still come?