Chapter 238: Chapter 237: Cultivation (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance!)_1
Several months later, beneath the Monster Tree.
Fang Xi silently retracted his palm.
"The refinement of the Blackwood Seal... incorporating the Divine Consciousness secret pattern of the Kuyong Mysterious Light... went extremely smoothly..."
Although Fang Xi reckoned he could refine the ’Kuyong Mysterious Light’ with his ’Yi Wood Magic Body’, even without switching his cultivation technique, the process of transforming the Blackwood Seal had gone almost too smoothly, making him almost believe he had fallen into some sort of illusion.
Not until today, did he finally confirm it.
"Is it the universality of the Treasure Planting Jue toward wooden element magical artifacts?"
"Or is it because of... the connection with the Longevity Skill and the Monster Tree?"
According to the information he had gathered before, the ’Longevity Skill’ was suspected to originate from the ’Nine Leaves Sect’, which matched somewhat with the techniques and Divine Skills of the ’Kuyong Skills’, seemingly a plausible explanation.
"Regardless, this is ultimately a good turn of events."
Fang Xi stepped out of the prohibited area of the Monster Tree and headed toward the Evergreen Pavilion.
"Young master..."
Yan Ying, Xiahou Xin, Taishu Hong, and Zhong Lu had all been waiting there already and bowed in greeting.
"Tomorrow, the Evergreen Pavilion will host a small scale trading event. I will make some temporary adjustments to the array. You all should stay inside your Dongfus and not go out..."
Fang Xi instructed, emphasizing his tone, "I mean... no matter what sounds you hear, do not go out. Do you understand?"
"Young master, we understand."
Yan Ying swallowed, not knowing why, but felt the atmosphere was somewhat tense.
After everyone had left, Fang Xi nodded and took out a black Array Flag.
As the magic power from the ’Green Wood Longevity Skills’ surged in, the diminutive Array Flag began spinning rapidly and transformed into a giant banner which Fang Xi waved about, adjusting the layout of the Profound Wood Formation.
A dense gray fog, coming from who knows where, enveloped the Evergreen Pavilion and revealed one secret door and passage after another, as if it had become a maze.
"The disposable wooden talisman I sent out before might pass through the outermost part of the array, but cannot move about recklessly, it can only come to the Evergreen Pavilion..."
"With these arrangements in place, it should be about right."
Having finished all this, Fang Xi soared up, turning into a streak of azure rainbow, and landed at the highest point of the Evergreen Pavilion. He sat in the principal seat, quietly waiting.
A few hours later, Ruan Xingling came into the hall without any mask or disguise. Seeing a row of chairs and Fang Xi in the center, she smiled sweetly and sat down next to him, also closing her eyes to rest and cultivate.
...
A day’s time quickly passed.
One after another, faint Escape Lights appeared, all moving at astonishing speeds, indicating Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Some were enveloped in a layer of shining light or black fog to conceal their identities, while others walked in openly, holding talismans, and entered the Profound Wood Formation right away.
Thud, thud!
A series of footsteps echoed, causing Fang Xi to open his eyes.
Then, he saw a man in a purple robe with a dignified appearance: Ouyang Zhen.
Following behind Ouyang Zhen was Yuan Feihong.
This time, two people from Baize Immortal City had come.
"Ouyang Sir, please take a seat!"
As the local host, Fang Xi immediately rose to greet them, "Come and try the unique Cloud Dragon Tea produced by this island..."
"Thank you," said Ouyang Zhen as he sat down, sipping the Spiritual Tea and looking at Fang Xi, who was greeting Yuan Feihong. A complex expression flickered in his eyes.
He had not expected that the Individual Cultivator who nearly reached sixty years before achieving Foundation Establishment, whom he once considered hopeless on the Taoist Path, possibly even struggling to break through the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, could have come this far!
The present-day Fang Xi, titled the number one cultivator of Thousand Island Lake, was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment practitioner capable of overpowering late-stage sword cultivators.
This fact made Ouyang Zhen’s face burn with discomfort.
However, his cultivation had advanced again, and he was now a cultivator at the pinnacle of Foundation Establishment.
Armed with the third-tier Kui Cattle Drum, he was certainly among the top echelon in terms of combat power for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and thus he carried a certain confidence.
At this moment, he sat in meditation, nearly unshakable like a mountain against all winds.
Light from the array continuously blinked, and one by one, Foundation Establishment Cultivators emerged from the passages formed by the Prohibitions and into the Evergreen Pavilion.
Liu Sanqi was, of course, among them, chatting enthusiastically with Yan Changkong.
Beyond them, there were several figures concealed beneath long robes, their genders indiscernible.
Fang Xi, unchanged in expression, courteously ushered them to their seats.
Half a day later, the twenty chairs in the room were all occupied, with no one absent.
However, most of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators who came to trade were concealing their identities, with only the host himself and a very few confident ones, like Yan Changkong who had the support of Core Formation Sects, daring to appear openly.
"Welcome, fellow Taoists, to Dragon Fish Island. Your presence here is truly an honor for me as the Island Master..."
Once everyone had arrived, Fang Xi stood up and gave an opening speech.
"Let’s cut the chatter... I’ve come specifically for the second-tier Prohibition-breaking Talisman, and I hope you won’t disappoint us fellow Taoists. Otherwise, heh heh..."
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator wrapped in a black and red robe, surrounded by an aura of black mist, spoke up.
"Of course..." Fang Xi’s smile remained unfazed as his Divine Consciousness, with the help of the third-tier ’Nine Nether Profound Wood Array’, swept through and instantly saw through to the bottom of this person: ’It turns out to be Li Rujian, what are you doing acting like a Demon Cultivator? It’s only you, hiding your face and making threats. Remove your mask, and I’d like to see if you dare threaten me to my face... I’d smash you!’
"To refine a second-tier Prohibition-breaking Talisman, one must possess profound knowledge in both Talisman and Array Paths... I am quite impressed with you, Lord Fang."
Another woman in a green garment spoke with a smile, her figure graceful and her voice seductive to the bone, yet her face was veiled by a dreamlike mist: "Lord Fang... I wonder if you would be willing to accompany me to Jade Island? I can let you choose the spoils of war first... If you want to right now, I’m even willing to offer myself to you..."
"The fairy jests. I, for one, have no great ambitions and would certainly not leave my den for such a perilous place."
Fang Xi smiled, this woman being one of the few he could not completely see through.
The ones he could not decipher were either Cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment or those particularly adept at concealment or possessing some sort of Exotic Treasure, requiring extra caution.
’This woman... gives off a strange vibe; if not for the risk of being discovered by forcefully stimulating the Great Array to break through her disguise, I’d take a closer look at you...’
Fang Xi thought with an internal sneer.
Investigating the backgrounds of these individuals, he naturally used the most covert methods, not giving the slightest hint away.
Otherwise, forget hosting the exchange meeting, his reputation would be ruined immediately, becoming the mortal enemy of all present who were concealing their identities!
Although... Fang Xi didn’t really care much about that either.
He clapped his hands and continued, "The rules of the exchange meeting are simple: from the time I begin, everyone takes turns on stage, allowed to sell or request only one item, then it repeats... If everything is sold at the end, or there remain any regrets, you can exchange privately."
"If there is a need for a private exchange between any two, you can tell me, and I will use array prohibitions to create a private space for you."
The rules were simple, as most private exchanges operated this way.
And as the host, Fang Xi naturally was the first to take the stage, otherwise why would he bother with such efforts?
"So... Let me set the ball rolling."
Fang Xi took out a semi-translucent jade bottle, within was a vermilion pill with three golden lines on its surface: "A Rushing Essence Pill that can assist mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators to break through their bottlenecks..."
"How much is it selling for?" asked a Cultivator in a black robe as he looked at the pill, his eyes filled with longing.
He had been trapped at the bottleneck of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment for a long time.
In reality, among the Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage of the three countries, the majority were at the early stage, late-stage and peak Cultivators were extremely rare, each famous far and wide.
"Not for sale, for exchange only..."
Fang Xi said with a smile: "As many cultivation manuals have appeared within the secrets of Jade Island... I would like to exchange for a Wooden Element cultivation practice that can reach the Nascent Soul realm."
"Nascent Soul? Lord Fang sets his sights high... In our lifetimes, it would already be good to achieve Core Formation," an old woman chuckled with an aged laugh.
"Here I have a top-tier cultivation practice that can be cultivated to the Core Formation stage, with the rest compensated with Spirit Stones... How does that sound?" the black-robed Foundation Establishment immediately said.
Fang Xi listened but remained silent, continuing to observe the crowd.
"Hehe... I, on the other hand, do have a cultivation practice that reaches the Nascent Soul realm!" said the woman in the green dress with a soft laugh, suddenly speaking up and tossing a jade slip over: "Here lies the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment parts of the practice. Sir, you can first inspect it for authenticity..."
Fang Xi took it and a sweep of his Divine Consciousness later, his expression turned somewhat strange.
Because he was all too familiar with the content on this jade slip!
Not only was he familiar, but he had practiced it himself; it was none other than the ’Green Wood Longevity Skills’!
’Could it be that this woman is from the Green Wood Sect of the Wood Kingdom? After all, the Ten Thousand Law Pavilion did say that the cultivation practice I was learning came from Wood Kingdom...’
Fang Xi felt an unexpected sense of serendipity.
"Indeed, it is a Wooden Element practice... Barely sufficient..."
He looked around and declared loudly: "If there is no higher bid from other Sirs, let’s make the exchange like this..."
"Wait!"
Ouyang Zhen glanced at Yuan Feihong and smiled, "I have in my possession an ancient Wooden Element cultivation practice of the highest order, obtained from ruins, which Sir might want to consider."
He waved his hand, and another jade slip flew out.
Fang Xi took one look, and his heart felt a pang of emotion—it was indeed the ’Kuyong Skills’.
"My cultivation practice is a top-tier Wooden Element practice, its superiority hardly needs to be spoken of, does it?" Ouyang Zhen smiled proudly.
He intended to auction the Rushing Essence Pill to aid Yuan Feihong in breaking through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
Mr. Sanshi previously went to great lengths in the turmoil of Baize Immortal City, even been injured in a clash of magic powers. Without the aid of pills, fear it would be difficult for him to cultivate to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
Moreover, he also intended to get on good terms with Fang Xi.
Now, as the influence in Fairy City declined, even he, Master Ouyang, had to lower his stature to make amends for past errors.
"Hehe... I wonder, Master Ouyang, up to what realm can your cultivation practice be cultivated?" the woman in the green dress asked with a confident smile.
Ouyang Zhen was taken aback, then replied, "This cultivation practice has seventeen layers, which can be cultivated all the way to the early stage of Nascent Soul Realm."
"Unfortunate for you, the practice I have can be cultivated up to the eighteenth layer, entering the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul," the woman in green retorted with a mischievous laugh. "Sir Fang... How do you choose?"
"Well..." Fang Xi pondered and looked at Ouyang Zhen. "In my life, even reaching Core Formation would be a fortunate fluke; Nascent Soul is but a dream within a dream. I only need the cultivation practices for reference... Naturally, I would choose the top-tier one."
"Indeed, that’s exactly right."
A flicker of joy crossed Ouyang Zhen’s face, and the green-garment woman didn’t continue to argue. Instead, she watched Fang Xi with interest, the ripples in her beautiful eyes betraying a sense of intrigue, her thoughts unknown...