Chapter 65: Chapter 64 Evergreen (Congratulations to the clan leader Yusheng for his promotion!)_1 Chapter 65: Chapter 64 Evergreen (Congratulations to the clan leader Yusheng for his promotion!)_1 “Everything one could possibly need?”
Fang Xi had originally planned to buy two bottles of ‘Wood Origin Pills’ and then leave.
But upon hearing Song Qing’s confident tone, he couldn’t help but ask impulsively, “Do you also have spirit objects or secret techniques to enhance the quality of the Wooden Spirit Root?”
Song Qing’s smug expression suddenly froze, and after pondering seriously for a moment, he asked, “Mr. Fang, do you have an affinity for the Wooden Element Spirit Root?”
“Indeed!”
A thought struck Fang Xi; could it be that there really was such a thing?
“Haha, isn’t that a coincidence?”
Song Qing clapped his hands, “The very item Mr. Fang seeks, our tower indeed possesses!”
“Could it be that you are jesting with me?” Fang Xi eyed the other man suspiciously.
Could it be that, due to his limited experience, enhancing one’s qualifications was actually a simple matter in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm?
“Actually, as soon as I mention this method, you’ll understand it’s for real, and that is…” Song Qing didn’t leave any suspense and directly said, “One can possess a special Wooden Element Spirit Body!”
If Fang Xi hadn’t refrained from drinking the Spiritual Tea, he could have spat it all over Song Qing’s face.
“Cough cough… I am not a cultivator who possesses a Spirit Body, not even a latent one!”
Fang Xi was certain about this.
“Haha… who said a Spirit Body must be innate?” Song Qing laughed heartily, “The Cultivation World has countless miraculous and secret techniques. Cultivating a special Spirit Body later in life is not an impossible feat!”
At that moment, Fang Xi’s heart skipped a beat with excitement!
But the next instant, he regained his composure and said with a wry smile, “Even if it exists, there’s no guarantee of its veracity, and… I doubt I can afford it.”
Despite the great temptation, Fang Xi knew one thing: there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
As long as you don’t gamble, you will never lose!
“Haha… I can swear by the Heart Demon Oath that this secret technique is absolutely true.”
Song Qing seemed to have anticipated Fang Xi’s reaction and said with a grin, “Mr. Fang might as well hear me out… this secret art has quite a connection with Green Bamboo Mountain Market and the Situ Family. Have you ever heard of the Secret Realm of Purple Dark Mountain?”
Fang Xi’s heart stirred, “That Secret Realm is quite famous, said to have been carved up by the Situ Family and Red Leaf Valley, which then both fell to ruin because of it!”
“Exactly!” Song Qing clapped his hands and smiled, “This secret technique was obtained from the Situ Family’s treasure vault. According to intelligence gathered through the soul search of prisoners, it is indeed from the Secret Realm of Purple Dark Mountain! It’s just a pity… this technique is only suitable for cultivators with a Wooden Element affinity and the conditions are somewhat harsh, otherwise, my family would never sell it.”
As he spoke, he took out an emerald-green jade slip from his Storage Bag, which also had a talisman attached to it.
Fang Xi’s eyes blazed with desire, “Is this from the Situ Family’s treasure vault?”
“Of course not, it’s just a copy, but it has been engraved with a spell to guarantee it is exactly the same as the original!”
To ensure this, Song Qing even made a Heart Demon Oath, vouching for its authenticity.
Anyone on the Taoist path could encounter a Heart Demon, especially during emotionally charged moments or critical breakthroughs, and the danger was significant.
This young Song Qing, who was already at a later stage of Qi Refining, was somewhat credible by staking his Taoist path.
Yet Fang Xi sneered, “Potions, talismans, and magical artifacts all get used up with each sale… but secret techniques can be copied infinitely. You sure do have a great business strategy.”
“You’re wronging me, Mr. Fang. Within our family, there are only a few copies of this replica; we will not sell any more than that.”
Song Qing pushed the jade slip with determination, “There’s a prohibition on the slip, allowing Mr. Fang to only view a small part of it.”
That was the usual practice when buying techniques; otherwise, with a cultivator’s memory, one might remember everything after just a few glances.
Fang Xi took over and placed the jade slip on his forehead.
“Longevity Skills!”
He quickly saw the name of this secret technique.
Looking at the introduction, he found much was obscured, but he could still discern that the main focus was on cultivating Spirit Plants and absorbing the essence of flora and fauna… Indeed, it was a technique for cultivating an acquired Spirit Body!
“It’s actually true.”
Fang Xi was shaken as he set down the jade slip and looked towards Song Qing again, “How much does this ‘Longevity Skills’ technique cost?”
“Hehe, not expensive at all, just five hundred Spirit Stones,” Song Qing revealed his smile, “If you don’t have enough Spirit Stones, our tower also accepts various Spiritual Objects as a mortgage.”
At this moment, his true intentions were revealed!
Fang Xi hesitated for a long while and then clenched his teeth as he pulled out a Storage Bag. With a flick of his hand over it, several monster beast skins appeared.
“Monster materials?”
Song Qing’s eyes lit up, quickly inspecting them: “Second-grade middle-quality Monster Wolf skin, well-preserved… What monster is this? I’ve never seen it before, but it also seems to be second-grade middle quality… Monster Wolf teeth, somewhat damaged though…”
Fang Xi emptied out two Storage Bags one after another. Fortunately, he had previously visited Han Fatty and obtained a good number of monster materials; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had enough.
In total, he sold for a bit over two hundred Spirit Stones.
Together with the earnings from selling Golden Grains Pills earlier, plus the hundred or so Spirit Stones Fang Xi already had, he barely managed to gather five hundred Spirit Stones.
Song Qing drafted the contract meticulously, creating two copies. After both had imprinted their magic power, he said with a smile:
“Mr. Fang, the transaction is complete!”
He gathered up a large pile of spirit stones and stored them away, then recited a secret incantation, his hands flashed with light, ripping through the talisman on the jade slip.
This was a special prohibition, which if not followed in specific steps, would surely self-destruct.
However, within Song Qing’s smile seemed to lie a hint of other meanings.
Seeing this, Fang Xi’s heart couldn’t help but sink. To him, though, monster materials were basically worthless; they were just a small price paid in spirit stones for a possibility.
Now picking up the emerald jade slip, he placed it against his forehead.
Not long after, his face turned alternately green and red, his eyes full of bloodshot veins.
Snap!
Fang Xi slammed the table fiercely, nearly bursting with rage, his eyes full of bloodshot, “Mr. Song… are you trying to trick me?!”
“What do you mean by that, Sir?” Song Qing, anticipating this, swiftly moved back a distance, all smiles, “I swore by my heart demon that the secret technique described in this jade slip is indeed a cultivation method for inducing the Heavenly Spirit Body, is it not?”
“But… but this damn thing…”
Fang Xi stood up, as if ready to start a fight at any moment but then sneered coldly, “The Heaven and Earth Spirit Root and the time-consuming conditions are indeed extremely strict, aren’t they?”
Seeing Fang Xi actually hold back his anger was somewhat surprising to Song Qing.
“Aren’t you worried about damaging the reputation of Ten Thousand Seas Tower, Sir?” Fang Xi’s complexion turned a bit green as he spoke.
“This contract, have you not read it, Sir? Our tower sold you a cultivation method for the Heavenly Spirit Body for five hundred spirit stones—a huge bargain for you. Where is the mistake in that? We did not force a sale; it was you who approached us willingly!” Song Qing responded coldly.
“If you slander Ten Thousand Seas Tower’s reputation without any solid evidence, my Song Family is not to be trifled with either!” He intentionally emphasized the words “Song Family!”
“I have suffered a loss… Would the shopkeeper be willing to return some spirit stones to me, even a hundred would be nice!” Fang Xi’s face went through a tumult of changes, as if he’d opened a dye shop, and finally managed a strained smile, pitifully begging with a bow.
“Hehe…”
Song Qing was as cold as an iceberg, “Customer… it’s time for you to leave.”
He was fearless, knowing full well that the defenses of Ten Thousand Seas Tower were at least second-tier!
“Very well, we shall meet again when mountains are still green, and rivers continue to flow!” Fang Xi dejectedly got up, walking out of Ten Thousand Seas Tower.
His footsteps quickened, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the crowd.
After making several turns in different directions, changing his appearance several times, and confirming no one was following him, Fang Xi finally sighed in relief.
Touching his storage bag, his spirit sense felt the emerald jade slip inside; he barely controlled his facial muscles from bursting into laughter.
The ‘Longevity Skills’ were indeed a pitfall!
According to the secret technique, to cultivate a Spirit Body later in life, one naturally needed extremely harsh conditions.
Not to mention the Wooden Spirit Root, the true rigor lay in the need to sacrifice and refine a ‘Heaven and Earth Spirit Root’ as support, transforming it into a cultivator’s ‘Life-bound Spirit Plant.’
Then, one could continue nurturing the Life-bound Spirit Plant, absorbing its essence of vegetation and the forces from sun and moon cycles, tempering one’s own Wooden Element’s induced Spirit Body!
This so-called ‘Heaven and Earth Spirit Root’ required using wondrous treasures of the world at best, and at a bare minimum, a third-tier Spirit Plant was marginally acceptable, which naturally posed a huge pitfall for any Qi Refining cultivators!
Moreover, the Spirit Plant needed a suitable Spiritual Vein to grow!
Meaning, one also required at least a third-tier Spiritual Vein Land to plant the spirit root for cultivation!
And this wasn’t even the worst part of the ‘Longevity Skills!’
The worst was that while cultivating this technique, a cultivator couldn’t stray too far away from their Life-bound Spirit Plant. They needed to stay by its side over years and years for it to be effective. If one left for too long, the cultivation would immediately fail!
And such time was counted by centuries!
“Hundred Years of Green Wood Spirit Body, Thousand Years of Wood Magic Body, Ten Thousand Years Eternal Green Body, which is the rumored Immortal ‘Longevity Taoist Body’ that can ascend to immortality!”
“This cultivation method is truly…”
Frankly, Fang Xi was somewhat dumbfounded when he saw it.
Even for the most basic Green Wood Spirit Body, one needed at least a third-tier Spirit Root, planted and nurtured upon a third-tier Spirit Land for a hundred years, during which a cultivator could not leave!
“A third-tier Spiritual Vein Land… probably only the Mysterious Heaven Sect in Yue Country has that, right?”
“And even if all these problems were solved, it would take a hundred years to cultivate the induced Spirit Body, and by that time, I would be long dead!”
“Not to mention the Wood Magic Body; presumably, only Core Formation ancestors or even Yuan Ying True Monarchs who have enough lifespan could attempt it. But since they can form Core or Nascent Soul, their own spirit roots must be exceptional and might even have awakened their innate spirit bodies already, so why would they cultivate some broken induced Spirit Body?”
“It’s just a chicken rib—completely useless and superfluous!”
“Although it’s mentioned later that one could concoct certain Spiritual Liquids to promote the growth of the Spirit Plant, those costs would be astronomical… Especially the highest-level ‘Creation Spirit Liquid,’ said to allow a Spirit Plant to instantaneously grow for a hundred years, but damn, I’ve never even heard of such a thing! Perhaps it can be found in the Immortal Realm, but there’s a very high probability that it doesn’t exist in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm!”
Song Qing of Ten Thousand Seas Tower clearly aimed to exploit this Longevity Skills for spirit stones!
But Fang Xi still let him exploit.
Because it suddenly occurred to him, the ‘Monster Tree’ in Black Stone City!