Chapter 427: Chapter 425: Sky Guard (In honor of the Silver Alliance!)_1
"No need..."
Fang Xi looked at the few Qi Refining Immortal Cultivators and casually asked, "Where are you from, and where are you planning to go?"
The young cultivator who prepared to stay behind stepped forward and respectfully said, "We are all from the Gan family, hailing from the Quicksand Region, on our way to ’Tianwei City’!"
"Quicksand Region?"
Fang Xi’s mouth curved into a smile, "Do you know if the sect war between the Yellow Sand Sect and the Eight Desolate Sect has ended?"
"Has Senior visited the Quicksand Region before?"
The young man was delighted, but then replied with a wry smile, "Because of the Monster Clan descending to our realm, the two factions have long ceased fire... In fact, the East Eight Domains have joined forces to construct ’Tianwei City’, setting up a giant array to keep the Monster Clan’s army blocked near the Void Passage... To be frank, we were originally tasked with transporting a batch of supplies to ’Tianwei City’, but unexpectedly ran into an Earth Borer Demon Qiu..."
The Western Desert Cultivation World is vast, with each region having its differences.
Generally speaking, each ’domain’ has a Nascent Soul level power.
"I see, do you have a map of this place?"
Fang Xi asked and took a jade slip from the young cultivator before taking off with his Escape Light.
"Brother, who is that senior?"
The girl from before dared to come forward and asked the young cultivator.
"I don’t know, but with such casualness, he must be at least a Core Formation cultivator..." The young man fondly patted the girl’s head, "Such seniors are far beyond our reach, but as long as we deliver this batch of ’Xuan Sha Grass’ to Tianwei City, the profits combined with our prior savings will be enough for us to cultivate to the peak of Qi Refining, and then... perhaps there will be a chance for Foundation Establishment..."
...
Tianwei City is located at the border between the Black Water Domain and the Heavenly Wind Domain.
Adjacent to the city is the largest Void Passage in the East Eight Domains.
After discussions among the various Nascent Soul Sects nearby, it was finally decided to construct this city and arrange a Great Array to block the Monster Clan’s army at this location.
From tens of thousands of feet in the air, Fang Xi could see a super-gigantic array that might cover thousands, even tens of thousands of miles, enveloping both the Void Passage and Tianwei City within it.
In other words, Tianwei City was the only Array Eye and passage within this array.
If this city remains unbreached, the Monster Clan within the Great Array will never be able to come out.
"This is indeed interesting!"
A Heterodox Nascent Soul cast a magic spell, and a demon light flickered, transforming him into an ordinary-looking young man. His aura also dropped to about Core Formation level, and he flew down to the outside of Tianwei City.
The city gate and a part of the city wall just happened to be at the edge of the array’s reach.
At this gate, there was a line of Foundation Establishment cultivators clad in Spirit Armor patrolling back and forth, led by two Core Formation cultivators.
’It seems the defenses aren’t particularly strict, perhaps because this side of the wall faces the human race territory?’ Fang Xi thought to himself, observing.
He could see that the city gates were wide open, with a constant stream of cultivators coming and going every moment.
There were both seriously injured Demon Hunting Teams leaving and logistical teams transporting large quantities of Spirit Rice, Talismans, and Spiritual Instruments... The scene was bustling with activity.
Fang Xi released his Escape Light and approached the city gate.
A Golden Core cultivator scanned him with Divine Consciousness, and his expression changed slightly. He stepped forward to greet, "Sir, I am Miao Yuandong of the Black Water Sect, may I ask who you are?"
"Master Mu!"
Fang Xi replied with a smile.
"Sir, are you here for the battle between humans and demons?"
Miao Yuandong asked further.
In fact, cultivators are quite selfish; even a battle that could affect the future of the Mortal Realm sees many only concerned with their own interests.
Fang Xi learned from his Three Meat and Wine Friends that even within Jiang Country, there were several Nascent Soul old monsters, but they were all loners, not even cultivating at fourth-tier Spiritual Veins, instead wandering the world freely, with even the Demon Lord Tian Du unable to do much about them.
It was the same in the Western Desert Cultivation World; the decision to build Tianwei City was made by the eight major Nascent Soul powers and their affiliated families and sects.
The real high-level Individual Cultivators could just hide at the ends of the earth, and even monsters wouldn’t be able to bother them.
"Indeed... I’ve heard that there are many Monster materials available here, and came to take a look," Fang Xi replied with a hint of a smile.
"I see..." Miao Yuandong led Fang Xi to the city gate, "Sir, you are probably aware that after entering the city, there are a few prohibitions to heed... First, one should not venture into the combat zone unless one is a summoned warrior or has accepted a related mission, as it could easily lead to being captured by the enforcement team... Secondly, one shouldn’t linger in the city for too long. If the token’s prohibition begins to alert, one must leave quickly or proceed with formalities immediately..."
Fang Xi then took a yellow token from Miao Yuandong.
"Sir... if you join the current alliance of the eight sects, with your Core Formation cultivation, you are bound to be put to great use, with many generous merit rewards... On the current Sect Merit List, Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects have even been made available for exchange."
Miao Yuandong couldn’t help but mention.
"Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects?"
Fang Xi responded thoughtfully upon hearing.
Sects can issue conscription orders to their subordinates, but for freely wandering Individual Cultivators, they can only be tempted with benefits.
He estimated that for a Core Formation Individual Cultivator to accumulate the merits needed to obtain Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects would be as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Yet, it was a hope nonetheless.
"This... I shall consider it," he said.
Fang Xi did not reject the offer outright and entered through the gates of Tianwei City.
Above this city gate, there was a mirror emitting a peculiar radiance, sweeping over every Cultivator present.
Miao Yuandong watched as Fang Xi entered through the gate. Only when the mirror, a magical treasure, did not react strangely, did he breathe a sigh of relief and return to his patrol team.
"A lone Nascent Soul Cultivator poses no problem... The Demons’ Mirror has scanned over him," he said to another Core Formation Cultivator.
This ’Demons’ Mirror’ was a type of magical treasure unique to the Western Desert Cultivation World, capable of distinguishing Demon Qi.
Sadly, within the Cultivation World, there was never a shortage of ’Human Betrayers’.
Some even accepted the bloodline of the Monster Clan, covertly transforming into ’half-demon bodies’, and such individuals were not uncommon.
After all, what Cultivators sought was ’Long Life’!
This Void Passage was only the largest one; there were many smaller, undiscovered passages within the Western Desert Cultivation World.
Perhaps fourth-order Monster beasts could not sneak through, but lower-order ones had managed to do so in abundance. Furthermore, other defense lines inevitably had oversights, then breached by the might of the Monster Clan...
...
Upon stepping into Tianwei City, Fang Xi’s first impression was ’bustling’.
Whether it was the continuous barrage of spells booming from the opposite side of the city walls or the clamor of trade within the city quarter on this side, it was all bubbling over.
Many individual Cultivators, not afraid to risk their necks, formed Demon Hunting Teams, eagerly discussing their gains on the Merit List, or some Individual Cultivator’s luck in obtaining the head of a high-ranking Monster Clan member, resulting in a hefty reward, and the like.
Besides, the dedicated markets were full of shops selling pills, magic treasures, and arrays, all doing brisk business.
On the street stalls, one could see Monster materials of various kinds.
"Have a look, take a peek... The claw of a third-order ’Lightning Feathered Eagle,’ this is raw material for a magical treasure..."
"The skin and blood of the White Jade Toad, exalted ingredients for crafting Detoxification Pills..."
"Demon Slaying Sword... Top-notch ’Demon Slaying Sword’, already nurtured to the level of Spiritual Instruments, ninety percent new, selling for a low price..."
"A replica of the spiritual treasure ’Thousand Demon Banner’... ’Hundred Demon Flag’, selling cheap for one thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!"
...
In the midst of the hustle and bustle, Fang Xi stood in front of a stall hawking the ’Hundred Demon Flag’.
The stall owner was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator dressed in a red robe, emitting a faint Evil Qi. Seeing Fang Xi’s displayed Nascent Soul Cultivation, he immediately put on a smile, "Would Senior like to buy a Spiritual Instrument?"
Fang Xi picked up a greenish small flag and flicked it lightly; a dark green Demon Qi appeared on it. Within the Demon Qi, there seemed to be the shadow of a formidable Demon Spirit, in the shape of a centipede.
"This Spiritual Instrument is quite nice, a little gem indeed, a thousand low-grade Spirit Stones is certainly not expensive," he remarked.
"Indeed, it isn’t. All thanks to the Eight Great Sects for selling the crafting method at half price... Nowadays, any Cultivator daring to go to the city walls or hunt demons outside has a ’Hundred Demon Flag’, ’Thousand Demon Flag’, plus a ’Demon Slaying Sword’ as standard equipment," the stall owner said with a forced smile.
Fang Xi inquired further and learned that the ’Thousand Demon Banner’ and ’Demon Slaying Sword’ were originally renowned spiritual treasures in the vast Western Desert, especially effective against the Monster Clan.
Later, as the war between the human race and the Monster Clan broke out, the Nascent Soul Sects publicized the crafting methods for lower-grade replicas, which could be exchanged with just a few merits.
For example, this ’Hundred Demon Flag’ was considered high quality among Spiritual Instruments. It only required some Monster materials and Demon Spirits to craft. It was very handy for protection and even had an additional mystery. It could use Demon Qi to conceal the Cultivator’s own aura, so if someone going out to hunt high-order Monster beasts carried one, they could evade alertness and harassment from lower-order Monster beasts, making it quite practical.
Besides, the ’Demon Slaying Sword’ required a large amount of Monster beast spiritual blood to be edged and Sacrificially Refined. Once completed, it was highly useful for piercing through Monster beasts’ sturdy skin and bone defenses.
Rumor had it that even those fourth-order Transformed Great Demons wouldn’t dare to face a Spiritual Treasure grade ’Demon Slaying Sword’ with their physical bodies.
"Indeed, not bad... Give me a ’Demon Slaying Sword’ as well," Fang Xi said.
He took out over a dozen mid-grade Spirit Stones and bought two Spiritual Instruments, treating it as if he was casually purchasing a couple of trinkets.
’Cross-domain trade holds great prospects. The South Wilderness has been too long without interaction with the other domains... This time on the Seven Treasure Building Boat, I heard those Nascent Soul old eccentrics discussing tactics for welcoming battle, but I never heard of such weapons... It’s quite possible they have been lost in the South Wilderness. It would be a good deed to bring these traditions to the South Wilderness, benefiting the human race.’
’For the Mortal Realm, the Ancient Demon Realm is an old adversary... Unearthing some counteracting Cultivation methods and treasures... is not surprising.’
Fang Xi considered whether to go to the frontlines to mingle for some merits, such as venturing out of the city to hunt a few high-ranking members of the Monster Clan, and exchange for the crafting methods of the spiritual treasures together.
As he walked a few more steps, he suddenly stopped in front of another stall.
The stall owner was a strange old man dressed in a dark blue short coat with a black cloth wrapped around his head.
His appearance was withered, and his face bore complex black tattoos.
Upon seeing Fang Xi glance over, he couldn’t help but reveal a smile, "Does Senior play with gu as well?"
"Oh? You’re a worm cultivator?!"
Fang Xi took interest. Worm cultivation was also one of the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation and was even quite unconventional.
He had hardly encountered any worm cultivators when he was near the Quicksand Region last time!