Chapter 290: Chapter 289 Negotiation (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1
In the Scriptures Depository.
Although most of the books were only introductions, and full texts required contribution points to exchange, it still greatly broadened Fang Xi’s horizons.
He put down the last book before heading to the Secret Skill Area.
After briefly scanning the area, Fang Xi’s expression turned somewhat gloomy, "Lu Qing mislead me..."
"Talking about how the Green Wood Sect’s secret skills would be greatly beneficial to me..."
"But these Wooden Element secret skills... feel like they’re all inferior to what’s recorded in the Kuyong Skills; was I perhaps expecting too much?"
Fang Xi self-reflected for a moment, his own cultivation was already that of a top-tier Wooden Element method, plus the detailed version of ’Kuyong Skills’ the old ghost gave him, the so-called Wooden Element secret skills of the Green Wood Sect really weren’t of much use to him.
"Thankfully, I didn’t agree to Lu Qing’s terms back then... otherwise, I would have suffered a great loss..."
With a bit of disappointment, Fang Xi turned his attention to other secret skills beyond the wooden element.
The collection of secret skills amassed by the Green Wood Sect turned out to be quite interesting.
He scanned over the introductions one by one until finally, his eyes lit up at one, and he returned to the first floor.
At the entrance, there was a wooden table with a white-haired elder sitting behind it.
This person seemed frail in vitality, yet his magic power had reached the Great Perfection level of Foundation Establishment.
’It’s no wonder the Green Wood Sect has some solid foundations.’
’But then again, what do I care about this, a man just trying to make a living?’
Approaching the elder, Fang Xi gave a cupped fist salute, "I pay my respects to the Archive Elder!"
"Hmm? A new guest?"
The old man opened his eyelids, gave Fang Xi a glance, then slowly closed them, asking casually, "According to the rules, a new Foundation Establishment cultivator can choose a cultivation method or secret skill for free. What is your choice?"
"The ’Jade Talisman Secret Record’!"
Fang Xi stated his choice.
The old man opened his eyes again, closely examining Fang Xi for a moment, "Young man... you have quite an ambition... Are you interested in studying the ’Jade Talisman Skills’ left by ancient cultivators?"
The Taoist Path of Talismans was popular at the first and second ranks because it was easy to get started with and had a small expense.
But at the third rank, it often required third-rank spiritual trees and Monster King skins for talisman paper materials, making the consumption quite terrifying.
All over the three kingdoms, Sir Fang is recognized as the only third-rank Talisman Master.
However, rumors say that in ancient times, the talismans crafted by old cultivators were not based on paper but were made from precious metals and jades, creating unique ’Jade and Gold Talismans’!
Such talismans could not only store more magical might but could also be used multiple times.
In Fang Xi’s view, they seemed somewhat similar to magical and spiritual instruments.
They could even be regarded as a special kind of magical instrument with a limited number of uses!
The ’Jade Talisman Secret Record’ was just barely placed in the secret skill area, but it wasn’t some ancient talismanic art. It only contained the refining method for a ’Jade Talisman’.
As for the matching talismanic arts, not a trace was included, just incomplete fragments collected by the Green Wood Sect.
"I am also a Talisman Master, naturally I am very interested in this..."
Fang Xi smiled while simultaneously sighing inwardly, if he hadn’t failed to find a desirable secret skill, who would choose such an incomplete skill?
"Well, it is the freedom of the Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators to choose whatever-secret skill they wish."
The Archive Elder chuckled and from his storage bag, he took out a blank jade slip, imprinted his divine consciousness into it and handed it to Fang Xi, "This is a one-time jade slip, it will self-destruct after one viewing... Take it."
Fang Xi took the jade slip but did not leave immediately, instead, he curiously looked at the Archive Elder, "Does the elder have all the cultivation methods and secret skills in the tower memorized?"
"Of course... I grew up in the Green Wood Sect since I was a child, and at eighteen, I became a gatekeeper disciple. The thing I loved most in life was reading... I have read most of the classics in the Scriptures Depository."
The elder stroked his beard with a self-satisfied look, "Later, people even forgot my name and called me ’Elder Shu.’ Whenever disciples come to inquire about cultivation methods and secret skills, I could always offer relevant advice..."
Elder Shu laughed heartily, "I think highly of you, you are welcome to visit the Scriptures Depository more often to see me in the future..."
"I certainly will!"
Fang Xi left the Scriptures Depository, riding on a spiritual instrument, and vanished into the sky...
...
Emerald Bamboo Forest.
This place had a bamboo forest, lustrous as jade, emitting astonishing spiritual energy.
Among the cover of the bamboo, there was a small green mountain.
The inside of the mountain was hollowed out to form a cave dwelling with a large Spiritual Medicine Garden outside.
One day, Fang Xi arrived riding a spiritual instrument, inspecting the interior and exterior thoroughly, and couldn’t help being very satisfied.
"The spiritual energy of a lower third-rank level, just about enough for my needs... after all, cultivating Golden Core does not require breaking through a major realm, and it won’t result in heaven-reaching phenomena stretching for tens of miles."
"Moreover... when Immortal Cultivators absorb spiritual energy for cultivation, whether it’s Foundation Establishment or Golden Core... one can only draw in the spiritual energy from their surroundings, and there’s no grand spectacle... As for influencing the flow of spiritual energy within a hundred miles as easily as turning over one’s hand, even a Yuan Ying True Monarch might not be capable of that."
With the method given by the old ghost, Fang Xi also got a rough idea of what Yuan Ying True Monarchs could do.
They don’t have the direct ability to manipulate Heaven and Earth’s spiritual energy; they still have to go through the process of absorbing spiritual energy, refining it into internal magic power, and then casting spells...
Only Transcendent God cultivators may be able to directly manipulate the spiritual power between Heaven and Earth!
"Furthermore... Lu Qing is still merely a Golden Core..."
Fang Xi’s divine consciousness swept across an area of twenty miles, "A set of arrays can be arranged... and encircle this Emerald Bamboo Forest."
"By then, even if something unusual occurs, it will be concealed by the array... However, there must be one obvious and one hidden. On the surface, a second-grade lower-quality array would be decent... It matches my current standing."
Fang Xi entered the cave house and found that all kinds of facilities were quite complete, which made him quite satisfied.
He went to the center of the cave house, into the closed-door cultivation room.
Sitting on the cushion, he felt the rich spiritual energy around him, and couldn’t help but show a trace of a smile, beginning his first serious cultivation session since reaching the Core Formation Stage...
...
The night is deep.
Inside the Nourishing Origin Cave.
Lu Qing sat on the cushion with a calm expression, only appearing slightly more aged compared to when he went to congratulate Fang Xi.
Seeing this, Elder Qian and Brother Fu exchanged glances, both showing concern.
If the ancestor is like this, doesn’t it imply that even the Golden Core magic power can’t maintain his appearance and that his end isn’t far off?
In front of the two, there was also a sharp-looking middle-aged man, none other than the Green Wood Sect’s sect leader, ’Wei Xuan’!
"... As such, after I pass away, it is unlikely that another Core Formation cultivator will emerge among those in the Wood Kingdom who have reached the peak of Foundation Establishment..."
Lu Qing glanced at the several Foundation Establishment cultivators present with a sneer, "However, have you forgotten how, when my Green Wood Sect was first established, I thoroughly crushed and annihilated the Wood Origin Sect?"
"What’s more... how can you be certain that among those individual cultivators, there isn’t someone like the Dragon Fish Island’s Lord Master?"
"In the cultivation world, it isn’t guaranteed that those with superior gifts will ascend to higher realms, nor are those of inferior talent destined to lack great achievements... It’s a pity that I will soon pass away, but before I do, I will make sure that everything is arranged so that the sect will not be destroyed in an instant..."
Lu Qing said this, and then turned to look at Brother Fu.
Brother Fu immediately knelt down, "Ancestor... I am incapable, unable to capture Situ Qingqing. But seeing that her last resort involved a secret skill that suggested she was near her end, and if she took that second-grade Longevity Pill, she is undoubtedly doomed to die..."
"The Situ Family’s inheritance of the Demon Path is quite mysterious, and on top of that, there is the Corpse Refining Path... Although our sect has collected most of it, the original text has eluded us... It is a bit regrettable."
Lu Qing made a faint evaluation and then said indifferently, "Rise... In the future, it will be up to you few to support the Green Wood Sect..."
"With the defensive arrays in place, combined with the recent purging and verification... my Green Wood Sect defending Wood Kingdom for another hundred years should not be a problem..."
Wei Xuan said in a deep voice, "As long as there are no external threats, given another hundred years, our Green Wood Sect may well cultivate another Core Formation ancestor!"
"External threats, eh..."
Lu Qing looked in the direction of Yiling Valley and suddenly tossed out a jade slip, "This was sent by Old Yan, take a look for yourselves..."
Wei Xuan took it and upon looking, his face immediately showed an expression of disbelief mixed with some surprise.
After he finished reading, he passed the jade slip to Brother Fu and Elder Qian, who stood behind him.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators read it, their eyes inevitably filling with elation, "Ancestor, is this true? Old Yan really swears that he will not invade our Wood Kingdom for the rest of his life?"
"Hmph, whether it’s true or not, I will have to personally verify it before my lifespan runs out..."
Lu Qing huffed, "Even if he has no hope on the Taoist Path, there are other special oaths of the underworld; violating them would severely wound even us, Core Formation cultivators... I remember there’s a special talisman for signing such oaths in the warehouse, is there not?"
"To report to the ancestor, it is indeed the case..."
Elder Qian quickly replied.
"I had initially prepared it for Elder Fang, but now it seems it will be used on Old Yan..."
Lu Qing shook his head.
Wei Xuan took a step forward, "Our unilateral negotiations with Yiling Valley, will they affect the alliance with Mysterious Heaven Sect?"
"You don’t need to worry about that; Old Yan has also sent the same proposal for a truce to Mysterious Heaven Sect."
Lu Qing shook his head and sneered again, "Old Yan is here to retire, not to wage wars... Having now swallowed Martial Kingdom and Yiling Valley, it’s enough for him to flaunt his power and build a family... It’s quite beyond my expectations that he would so easily let go, not even tempted by the rich prize of Wood Kingdom after my passing..."
"Perhaps... his intentions lie elsewhere? Even if Yiling Valley attacks, with the array we can hold Green Wood Forest without much trouble... If Yue Country then moves to strike Martial Kingdom, the enemy’s forces will crumble..."
Brother Fu speculated.
"His intentions do indeed lie elsewhere... After all, among the three nations, there is still another Core Formation cultivator, yet Old Yan makes no mention of him..."
Lu Qing suddenly said, "Fang Xi even killed a Supreme Elder of Yiling Valley; without avenging this, Old Yan can’t maintain his authority... Well, it doesn’t matter; it’s only a matter of high-ranking cultivators fighting among themselves, a great war in the cultivation world will no longer arise."
He looked at Elder Qian, "Are two Foundation Establishment cultivators joining our sect today?"
"Indeed, one named Cao Chongyun and the other is Tie Jiu; their information is here."
Elder Qian immediately handed the Essence Blood wooden plaques and jade slips to Lu Qing.
"The Green Wood Sect is in turmoil, yet there are Foundation Establishment cultivators willingly joining, heh heh..."
Lu Qing didn’t pay much attention to the information; after all, these could be fabricated.
"So, ancestor... what should we do?"
Wei Xuan’s face showed a hint of murderous intent.
"Listen to their words, observe their actions... If they have impure motives, they will inevitably expose themselves."
Lu Qing shook his head, "You can be harsher towards outsiders, but without solid evidence, it’s better not to rashly take action against our own people. You don’t want to dishearten them..."
"We will heed your teaching!"
Wei Xuan and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators all bowed, expressing obedience to his command.