Chapter 501: Chapter 499 Wind Rises (Extra Submission 41) _1
Thirty years have flown by in the blink of an eye.
Three Immortal Mountain.
The newest disciples of the Three Immortals Sect no longer bother to question why Qingxu Peak is always shrouded by an array.
They even naturally assume that Three Immortal Mountain originally had only two peaks.
Only from the mouths of the sect’s Foundation Establishment officials and Core Formation elders does one learn that there is a Nascent Soul True Monarch cultivating in seclusion on Qingxu Peak, who must not be disturbed at any cost.
The slightly precarious situation the Three Immortals Sect had originally been in began to stabilize after the explosive death of Venerable Ten-Thousand Poison of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect and the news of Lord Tiankui’s secluded cultivation. In the recent openings of the sect, they have even accepted several disciples with decent spiritual root aptitudes in one go, one of which even possessed a Heaven Grade Spiritual Root! This made the sect leader, Chun Yuzhun, smile so hard his mouth was almost crooked.
On this day.
Chun Yuzhun rode his escape light to the periphery of Qingxu Peak, sending out a Voice Transmission Talisman, and then waited respectfully.
It wasn’t long before the mist parted to reveal a path.
Chun Yuzhun rode his escape light through, arriving at a Peach Blossom Forest.
The peach blossoms were in full bloom at this time, with pink petals dancing all over the sky, a sight incomparably beautiful.
Lord Tiankui sat atop a green rock, occasionally gulping down fine wine from a green-skinned gourd.
Everything was as if it were a replay of thirty years ago.
’The flowers may bloom again, and one may once more become young!’ Chun Yuzhun’s heart spontaneously grasped such an insight, yet felt somewhat melancholic.
Lord Yunzhu of their sect was being increasingly constrained by his lifespan, but the Three Immortals Sect had yet to cultivate a second Nascent Soul cultivator, which was indeed their greatest crisis!
Although Lord Yunzhu had become reclusive and rarely intervened in the past decade, focusing on preserving his health, aging is a rule of Heavenly Path’s evolution, how could it be fought against?
If there came a day when Lord Yunzhu would sit and transform and Lord Tiankui left, the flourishing situation of the Three Immortals Sect would certainly collapse overnight.
At that time, who knows how many disciples and elders would suffer a terrible fate...
Chun Yuzhun felt such sorrow that he nearly shed tears.
"Sect Leader Chun Yu, long time no see."
Just then, a clear and pure voice sounded right by his ear, pulling Chun Yuzhun out of that near-devastating state of mind.
His entire body shook as he immediately prostrated with great respect, "I thank Senior for pointing out the way through the maze. Otherwise, I would surely have fallen into the tribulation of the Heart Demon during my cultivation..."
"A cultivator’s pursuit of the Dao should be natural. One must be especially wary of becoming too obsessed..."
Fang Xi took another sip of Green Bamboo Wine, looking extremely at ease, even kindly offering a few pointers about the path of cultivation.
Ever since he refined the deluxe version of the Spirit Root Optimizing Liquid, he had gone into seclusion to cultivate with pills.
Considering the speed at which he absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, along with the efficiency of refining the ’Splitting Spirit Pill,’ his Wooden Spirit Root had advanced yet again, firmly entering the tier of Earth Grade Spiritual Roots!
This was, without a doubt, a great thing for Fang Xi!
Now, his aptitude even surpassed most Nascent Soul old monsters!
And... there was still a decent chance of awakening the ’Yi Wood Magic Body’ with an Earth Grade Wooden Spirit Root.
This meant that from now on, there would be no mismatch between his spiritual root and spirit body, and no one would suspect he had cultivated the ’Longevity Skills,’ thus erasing one of his flaws.
Not only that!
With the assistance of the fourth-rank mid-grade spiritual vein and the ’Splitting Spirit Pill,’ within just thirty years of secluded arduous cultivation, Fang Xi had nearly mastered the eighteenth layer of the Kuyong Skills and was not far from the mid-Nascent Soul peak.
This pace of cultivation was far beyond his previous estimates.
Naturally, this was the benefit brought about by the Spirit Root Optimizing Liquid and the ’Splitting Spirit Pill.’
And Fang Xi naturally planned to continue relentlessly, aiming to cultivate to the mid-phase peak in one go, then attempt to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage!
After all, with the support of the foundation of The Nine States, the cultivators there had written many thick papers on how to break through from mid-Nascent Soul stage to the late stage, providing a solid theoretical basis, with the only thing lacking being a sufficient number of spiritual objects.
In this regard, Fang Xi believed himself to be well-supplied.
At this moment, upon receiving Chun Yuzhun’s Voice Transmission Talisman, he was actually in a very good mood, hence he had the mind to offer some guidance.
"I would not wish to be burdened by obsession, but the sect is where my heart’s troubles lie. As the leader of a sect, my aptitude is not the best among us, and it’s likely that I will never be able to form a Nascent Soul in this lifetime; this is my inevitable path..." Chun Yuzhun said with a wry smile.
Almost all Immortal cultivation sects would never have a truly talented cultivator serve as sect leader, to be entangled in worldly affairs.
Their only task is to cultivate and break through barriers, to eventually form a Golden Core and Nascent Soul, becoming the backbone of the sect.
As for the position of sect leader? More likely, it goes to a disciple who is loyal and good at managing mundane tasks, but whose own cultivation aptitude is average.
In strict terms, these are the cultivators that the sect has given up on.
However, since the majority of cultivators will not attain enlightenment and ascension, having control over a large sect and the power to command is also something many cultivators wish for in their hearts.
There are also many cultivators who reach a bottleneck in their cultivation and go back to the secular world to establish families or sects, which reflects the different choices each person makes.
But Fang Xi, who is wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao, does so because he sees hope for ascension!
When compared to ascending to the realm of Earth Immortals, mundane power, wealth, and status... what do they amount to?
"Enough, the road is ultimately for you to choose." After this remark, and seeing that the man was unmoved, Fang Xi lost interest in persuading him further and asked, "Why have you come today?"
"Congratulations, Senior. The matter you commissioned before has finally made some progress," Chun Yuzhun said, beaming with joy.
"Oh? Could it be that there is news of a certain Demon Fire?"
Fang Xi was interested.
He had already sent a message through his flying sword to Chun Yuzhun, halting the efforts to gather materials for the Splitting Spirit Pill.
Therefore, if there was any news, it naturally had to do with the Demon Fire!
Finding a fourth-grade Demon Path Spiritual Flame was very difficult, not to mention Fang Xi had already acquired the easy-to-find ones.
Considering the time sense of a cultivator, getting news at this juncture was actually quite efficient...
"Reporting to Senior, there is news about the Three Yang Demon Fire," Chun Yuzhun said with a bow, his tone grave.
"The Sacred Fire Sect’s Undying Sacred Fire?" Fang Xi smiled and took another sip of Green Bamboo Wine, "That Sacred Fire certainly wouldn’t have been stolen; thus, it is a sub-fire?"
Even if it was a sub-fire of the Three Yang Demon Fire, its grade was as high as the fourth-grade, which was quite remarkable, and more than sufficient for use in the Demon Fire Refined Infant method.
Moreover, as described in the latest version of the ’Demon Fire Refined Infant School’, once the sacrificial refining of the Demon Infant was complete, the Demon Fire used would not be wasted. Instead, it could become one of the innate Divine Skills of the Demon Infant!
"Senior’s guess is correct. Our Sect disciple has made connections with a Core Formation elder from the Sacred Fire Sect. He let slip that during a recent private auction, there was a thought to use a Three Yang Sub-fire in exchange for a Spiritual Object," Chun Yuzhun said with a smile.
"Indeed, that’s good news."
Fang Xi smiled faintly. With this, the materials needed for the Demon Fire Refined Infant were almost completely gathered.
He pondered for a moment, then asked, "What about the Blood River Stone?"
"That, please forgive me, Senior. Such a top-grade material of the Demon Path is almost only found in legends; I have not heard of anyone willing to part with it," Chun Yuzhun answered, looking embarrassed.
"Never mind, having found one clue is already quite good...Tell me the specifics. What kind of Spiritual Object does the other party need? I do not wish to return empty-handed."
Fang Xi’s brows knitted slightly, then relaxed.
"Yes, the elder’s name is ’Jue Yanzi’, and he is presumably looking for an Infant Condensing Spiritual Object..."
Chun Yuzhun answered respectfully.
"Infant Condensing Spiritual Object?"
Fang Xi mused for a while. Offering an Infant Transformation Pill would clearly be way too valuable for a mere Three Yang Sub-fire. Probably any Spiritual Object that could slightly aid in condensing the Nascent Soul would suffice.
Three days later.
A streak of azure light tore through the mist, quickly flying out of the Three Immortal Mountain and blinking several times across the sky before disappearing...
...
Meanwhile.
Vicious-looking flying insects pulled a strangely-shaped azure carriage as they hurtled into the West Six Realms.
Several people sat on the carriage, all of them Nascent Soul cultivators!
Among them, a woman dressed in indigo robes, with a blue scorpion tattoo covering most of her face, was a worm cultivator!
Fan Yin was holding a bamboo tube at that moment. This tube was blood-red throughout, as though soaked in blood for too long, with the dark red color having penetrated every fiber of the spiritual bamboo.
And within the tube, the constant sounds of insect chirping could be heard.
"The direction pointed by the Guiding Insect should be the West Six Realms," Fan Yin said, looking at the bamboo tube with some reluctance, "I stimulated the potential of this ’Guiding Insect’ with ’Thousand Poison Flying Dan’, making this ordinary grade insect showcase effects comparable to those of a Heaven Grade insect, but the price is death upon use... Fortunately, it is intended to be a one-time-use insect."
"It is well known that you, Sir, are the foremost among worm cultivators, and many ancient insects often have unspeakably wonderful uses. Witnessing it today, it is indeed true!" another green-robed male cultivator said. He was the very image of a modest gentleman, graceful as jade, and somewhat to Fang Xi’s surprise, he recognized him as Master Biyu!
Next to Master Biyu sat an elder of the Black Dragon Sect, who was none other than Lord Hei Xuan!
With an aged face and a bare chin, Lord Hei Xuan pondered, "I have read an account in ancient books claiming that the legendary ’Guiding Insects’ were derived from the cultivation of the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation’s ’Skills of Divination’. The concept is very ingenious, using insects as the principal medium for divination, thus avoiding the consequences of life span erosion... Viewing it today, it is indeed exquisite!"
"You flatter me, Lord Hei Xuan."
Feeling awe inside, Fan Yin noted that the Black Dragon Sect, as the overlord of the Southern Border, even knew such precise details!
"This ’Guiding Insect’ is a one-time-use insect, or else I wouldn’t be willing to stimulate its potential... Besides, it can only approximate the direction for the divination and offers no further clues," she continued.
"Furthermore, it is quite difficult to refine, often failing hundreds of times before one successful attempt..."
Fan Yin shook her head, pointing out many weaknesses of the insect, clearly wary of these two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Black Dragon Sect harboring any improper thoughts.
Master Biyu smiled slightly and conveniently changed the subject, "This time, with the three of us joining forces, we will surely be able to unlock that Ancient Worm Cultivation Secret Realm!"
"Exactly..." Lord Hei Xuan also said, "If it weren’t for the fact that Master Biyu and I found the ancient ’God Bewitching Order’, would you have continued to conceal this secret, Miss Fan?"
"My Immortal Bewitching Sect has always handed down the map of the worm cultivation secret realm, but it is incomplete and requires a ’Guiding Insect’... how can it be called a concealment?" Fan Yin glanced at the two Nascent Soul cultivators with a hint of indignation, "Moreover, without the ’God Bewitching Order’ as the key to the realm, the secret realm cannot be opened, and I would not have cooperated with the two of you..."
Inside, she felt quite vexed. These two Nascent Soul elders from the Black Dragon Sect had fortuitously found the key to the Ancient Worm Cultivation Secret Realm, which the Immortal Bewitching Sect had long sought but never acquired, and had come to her for cooperation.
Under the temptation of the secret realm’s opportunity and the might of the Black Dragon Sect, she truly had no room to refuse...