Chapter 398: Chapter 396: Dan’s Book (in honor of the Silver Alliance)_1
Thousand Island Lake.
On a first-grade Spirit Island, two Qi Refining Stage Immortal Cultivators were trying to fly with magical instruments.
"Ying, this is your first time controlling a magical instrument to fly, don’t go too high, and have you brought the ’Light Body Talisman’ with you?"
The naive-looking brother with an honest face and average appearance solemnly instructed, "If you fall, don’t be afraid, just activate the talisman and you’ll be fine..."
"Mhm."
With a melon-seeded face, Ying, whose appearance could only be considered pretty, nodded. She was about to use her magic spell when her expression suddenly changed.
Whistle!
Roar!
Not far away, the sound of the Dragon and Phoenix Harmoniously Sounding could be heard.
A blue light flashed across the sky, arriving at the edge of the small island, then unceremoniously swept straight through the middle.
Although it was only a fleeting flash, the terrifying spiritual pressure from that third-grade monster beast still made the two minor Qi Refining cultivators shudder uncontrollably.
"Bro... Brother, was that..."
Ying stammered as she looked at the grandiose sight of the Dragon and Phoenix Carriage.
"A third-grade Dragon Phoenix Monster King pulling a carriage... There’s no mistaking it, it’s the carriage of the Dragon Fish Island’s Lord Master..."
The naive brother watched the blue light disappear, feeling nostalgic, "That Dragon Fish Island Master is a significant figure in our Yue Country’s Cultivation World that only appears once every thousand years, it’s said that he has cultivated to the late stage of Core Formation, and he even comes from the background of an Individual Cultivator who was a Spirit Farmer... The key point is he has quite the opportunity for Core Formation. In the past ten years or so, Dragon Fish Island has indeed seen frequent phenomena related to Core Formation, which is a grand event in the Yue Country’s Cultivation World that is hard to come by in a thousand years!"
For many cultivators, Fang Xi’s rise from the grassroots, starting as the most common Spirit Farmer among Individual Cultivators and leaping to become a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, is indeed very inspiring, but that’s all there is to it.
What makes them more envious is that the Dragon Fish Island’s Lord Master has Core Formation resources in his hands, and ever since he took his seat on Dragon Fish Island, every Tom, Dick, and Harry has achieved Core Formation!
How could this not make them all kinds of envious and jealous... They simply wished they could replace him.
"I’ve heard that although the Dragon Fish Island Master is a senior with great merits, he still has an elegant demeanor and is a rare handsome man..."
Little stars seemed to twinkle in Ying’s eyes.
"This..." The average-faced brother suddenly became a bit wary and hurriedly searched his mind for unfavorable rumors about the Dragon Fish Island Master: "I’ve heard that the Dragon Fish Island Master seems to have a fondness for pleasure and even likes to nourish his strength..."
"It’s okay, as long as I can get the chance for Foundation Establishment, I’m willing to be a concubine, even a furnace..."
Ying suddenly clenched her teeth: "Brother... can we go to Dragon Fish Island to cultivate in the future? I heard that the female cultivators living on Dragon Fish Island have a greater chance of being favored by the old ancestors..."
Her brother felt a pang in his heart as if he were losing something crucial and said with a bitter face, "The rental price for Dongfu on Dragon Fish Island is really expensive..."
...
"Excellent, excellent..."
Fang Xi brought out the Dragon and Phoenix Carriage and sped back to Dragon Fish Island.
All along the way, the world was at peace.
"This is indeed my second favorite homeland... a remote, rural place with few changes for decades and centuries... And no natural disasters or human calamities."
A red light flew out from Dragon Fish Island and landed in front of the carriage, revealing a woman in a red garment—it was Zhong Hongyu.
"Greetings, young master!"
Zhong Hongyu looked at Fang Xi with a complicated and resentful gaze.
"Enough..."
Fang Xi waved his hand dismissively, "During the time this young master was absent, has anything significant happened at Thousand Island Lake or in the Cultivation World of the three countries?"
"Reporting to young master, everything is peaceful."
Zhong Hongyu quickly adjusted her mood. After all, she was an early-stage Core Formation ancestor-level figure, a status comparable in the three countries only to Zhang Zhusheng and Taishu Hong, who held Jia Dan (False Cores).
"Good..."
Fang Xi made his way to the Evergreen Pavilion, pondering the matter of moving house. However, since he now preferred tranquility and had not yet cleared the Underworld Earth Vein on Jade Island, there was no need to make a big fuss about it and move immediately.
He decided to first enter seclusion and cultivate for a while, then think about how to deal with the earth vein’s energy.
"By the way, I managed to get quite a lot of good stuff on this trip."
Fang Xi suddenly smiled, tossed a Spirit Beast Bag over, "Inside here are a few second-grade Blue Water Winged Snakes. Command the fish farm manager to raise them... They will be quite good for guarding and protecting the home in the future."
"Your concubine understands."
Zhong Hongyu, upon hearing ’Blue Water Winged Snake,’ knew that those in charge of the fish farms were probably not up to the task and would have to do it herself.
Otherwise, would she let several individuals at the Qi Refining Late Stage and Great Perfection become mere prey for second-grade demonic beasts?
"Anything else?"
Fang Xi was about to dismiss Zhong Hongyu to enjoy a warm spring bath and relieve some of the fatigue from his long journey when he noticed her hesitant expression and curiously asked.
"It’s a small matter. Recently, Taishu Hong has sent a flying sword message saying that several remnants from Yiling Valley’s Core Formation fled from the Martial Kingdom and ventured deep into the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range, seemingly heading towards Yuan Country..."
Zhong Hongyu reported.
"Are you concerned that these Yiling Valley remnants may go to the Mixed Origin Sect to seek redress?"
Fang Xi smiled slightly, "Don’t worry, the two-way journey through the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range will take several years, not to mention that the Core Formation cultivators might just die in the mouths of demonic beasts... Even if they reach the bustling Yuan Country, whether they’ll still remember this grudge is another matter, especially since it wasn’t us who destroyed Yiling Valley..."
This was clearly the act of Master Yan who went mad in his old age, self-detonating his Golden Core and perishing together with his family’s high-ranking members. What did that have to do with him?
Even if the Mixed Origin Sect wanted to intervene, his status as a late-stage Core Formation cultivator could intimidate many, and they would most likely back off not wanting to make an enemy out of a senior cultivator over some remote land in the three countries.
Fang Xi was still accustomed to hiding a card up his sleeve, as the entire Cultivation World of the three countries didn’t know about his Heterodox Nascent Soul...
...
Three days later.
Inside the closed-door cultivation room.
Fang Xi, sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes and felt a wave of clarity and refreshment wash over him.
Next, he looked at his palm. With a flash of light from the Storage Ring, he took out the Soul Lamp.
"After all, I haven’t refined the secret skill for a second incarnation..."
"When breaking through a major bottleneck, if the Divine Soul is strong enough, it certainly has its advantages."
With this thought, Fang Xi did not hesitate any longer. His hands formed seals, and magic power surged into the Soul Lamp.
Whoosh! The lotus-like base of the Soul Lamp began to blossom, and a cyan flame in its midst swelled instantaneously, transforming into a cyan orb of light.
Fang Xi inhaled gently, and the ball of cyan light was drawn into his nose.
The next instant, he felt his head shake violently.
Soon after, a sensation of dizziness and brain swelling came over him.
"Fusing the split Divine Souls, as expected, feels a bit uncomfortable at the start..." Fang Xi murmured to himself, then resumed sitting cross-legged and silently cultivated.
Time passed indeterminately, and in his Sea of Consciousness, a cool sensation emerged.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the cyan orb had been absorbed by another even larger orb of the same kind, merging into one.
Subsequently, Fang Xi felt his Divine Consciousness expand incessantly, extending to the extreme distance of ninety miles!
"My range of Divine Consciousness has increased again!"
"This secret skill of the Yanmo Taoist Master is indeed useful for growing the Divine Soul...but it’s a bit troublesome."
The materials needed to refine the Soul Lamp were only average.
The key lay in the vast amount of lamp oil required afterward for nurturing the split soul’s growth and the time it consumed!
Fang Xi had invested a significant number of living souls from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, coupled with many precious materials, to prepare the lamp oil, having enough patience to wait for the results.
"However, that’s not much of an issue for me... Later on, I can try it several times. It’s a little trick to increasing the strength of the Divine Soul..."
"Sigh... Those Nascent Soul great sects accumulated heritage over many years, and it isn’t just in a few powerful cultivation methods and treasures, but in various experiences, tips... that can save their successors from walking too many detours."
To this day, Fang Xi still feels a bit regretful about being unable to soul-search the old ghost.
"Luckily, I’ve lived long enough; if I take detours, so be it—it’s just a matter of spending a bit more time... And besides, I might be able to compensate for it in the future."
With a sweep of his arm and a flash of silver light, he was already in the Dongfu within the Mountain Sea Pearl.
The Monster Tree stood as a forest unto itself, surrounded by abundant spiritual energy, already at the level of a top-quality third-grade.
"After investing the Spirit Origin Pearl and two top-quality Spirit Stones... This Dongfu’s spiritual energy is sufficient to support my daily cultivation..."
Dragon Fish Island was only at top-quality second-grade spiritual vein, which was somewhat insufficient even for an early-stage Core Formation cultivator, let alone for Fang Xi, who was at the later stages!
Thinking of top-quality Spirit Stones, Fang Xi recalled finding one in the old ghost’s Storage Bag.
However, he had preserved that stone, planning to save it for another use in the future.
After all, even if he were to add more top-quality Spirit Stones into the spiritual vein array, it wouldn’t be possible to elevate this Dongfu’s spiritual energy grade to the fourth grade.
He went under the Monster Tree and began his daily practice of Longevity Skills, followed by the unwavering ’Kuyong Skills’...
...
Several hours passed, and Fang Xi completed a full cycle of cultivation, exhaling a breath of impure Qi. His eyes flickered alternately with cyan and yellow hues, with a hint of purple.
Then, with a flip of his hand, he produced a jade hairpin and a crimson iron scroll.
These were the "Thousand-Machine Secret Scroll" and the "Crimson Heart Pill Manual"!
"Puppet skill... never mind, my skills in puppetry have always deviated from the norm, and my true craftsmanship is probably still at second grade. It’s not something that can be improved overnight..."
Fang Xi looked at the wreckage of two fourth-grade Puppets with some regret.
Although he was eager to immediately repair the fourth-grade Puppets, refuel them, and start using them, his puppet skill had always been quite narrow in scope, focusing mostly on manipulation and repair.
As for refining? He had always made do with wooden Puppets.
The path of puppetry is profound and intricate. Elevating the mastery to the fourth grade isn’t all that easy.
"Similarly... arrays and such, I can study them further after the breakthrough to Nascent Soul... "
"What really needs to be improved now is my alchemy! After all, it’s related to the refining of the Crossing Extinction Pill..."
Fang Xi put away the jade hairpin and began to delve into the "Crimson Heart Pill Manual."
’Chi Xinzi,’ worthy of being a grandmaster alchemist in the Western Desert, had many ideas that were completely novel to Fang Xi, making his accumulated knowledge leap forward; such is the benefit of exchanging different systems.
After all, the alchemy heritage of the Western Desert Cultivation World is bound to have some differences from the South Wilderness.
For instance, in Chi Xinzi’s teachings, there was a preference for refining ’Metal and Stone Pills’ using various minerals...
Beyond that, he also mentioned ’Water Refining Skill,’ ’Sun Moon Refining Skills,’ and other different alchemy techniques, all of which gave Fang Xi a fresh perspective.
"To seal away a semi-finished pill, harnessing the transformative power of a Spirit Land over a lengthy period to enhance its quality... "
"This concept seems somewhat similar to the ’Treasure Planting Jue’..."