Chapter 819: Chapter 723: Secret Skill (Extra Chapter for Subscriptions)
"Senior Fang..."
Shui Lingxin followed Fang Xi, feeling somewhat dizzy as she walked out of the Brahma Heaven Camp. It was only then she remembered something, "Those one thousand top-grade Spirit Stones, Lingxin will pay them back to senior... I’ve yet to congratulate senior on your advancement to Returning to Emptiness!"
As a cultivator who had returned to emptiness, although there were some privileges, Fang Xi knew not to cross the line.
The redemption fee for ascending cultivators was decided collectively by the Five Sons of Human Race. If he forcefully changed this, it would be no different from opposing the entire human race, which was quite irrational.
After all, the redemption was just one thousand top-grade Spirit Stones; he simply paid the money to solve it.
Only if he advanced to Mahayana in the future could he casually change this clause.
"It was nothing more than a fortunate coincidence. I’ll take you to see your master... She has recently cultivated to Perfect Transcendent God, and I’m afraid she will soon undergo tribulation..."
Fang Xi smiled faintly, glossing over the matter of repaying the Spirit Stones.
This scene made him feel a sense of déjà vu, and a slight sourness in his heart.
’Is this what it feels like to be an immortal? It’s a pity... things have long since changed, and people are no longer the same...’
"Where is my master?"
Shui Lingxin’s eyes brightened, "Indeed, Lingxin has not seen the master for a long time, I should pay her a visit..."
"Sky Brahman City!"
Fang Xi casually explained the matter of the Great Wilderness Reclamation in the Earth Immortal Realm, "To go from Three Realms Mountain to the Sky Brahman Domain, we need to take a Super Teleportation Array..."
"Super Teleportation Array? The fee for teleportation..."
Shui Lingxin was clever and immediately thought of something.
"Your master and I are peers, which also makes me your Martial Uncle... no need to be polite with me,"
Fang Xi said earnestly.
Actually, the cost of using the Super Teleportation Array was even higher, requiring Immortal Jade!
Therefore, the majority of those who could travel across regions were cultivators at or above Returning to Emptiness.
However, for Fang Xi, this was naturally not an issue.
During these five hundred years, his heterodox incarnation had been free to travel, often finding excuses to use the Super Teleportation Array, going to different territories of the human race to collect various secret skills, exotic treasures, and at the same time, secretly planted spatial coordinates in most regions of the human race.
In other words, those superpowers with Super Teleportation Arrays could only fleece Fang Xi once! Not more than that!
Even, Fang Xi could start a teleportation business at any time, and harshly snatch the livelihood of these superpowers...
Although, he certainly wouldn’t do that.
"Yes... Martial... Uncle!"
Shui Lingxin immediately complied and changed her address smoothly.
"That’s more like it..."
Fang Xi smiled, and responding with a grin, he took Shui Lingxin to the location of the Super Teleportation Array, handing over two pieces of Immortal Jade...
...
Sky Brahman City.
Inside Fang Xi’s Dongfu.
"Master!"
Seeing Fairy Yunxi, Shui Lingxin immediately knelt down in homage.
"Very good, very good, before my breakthrough, seeing you safely ascend has reduced the tribulations of my Heart Demon..."
Fairy Yunxi helped Shui Lingxin up and looked her up and down with satisfaction, revealing a pleased look, "Have you been assigned any duties by the Sky Brahman Army?"
"Thanks to Uncle Fang’s care... he has already redeemed me!"
Shui Lingxin said softly.
The moment these words were spoken, although Liu Xu knew well that there were many things that Fang Xi, who was only at the Transcendent God level at that time, had no choice in, she still felt a pang in her heart.
"That’s excellent!"
Fairy Yunxi was overjoyed, "This way, you don’t need to take shelter under other powers. You can simply cultivate as an Individual Immortal... Our Penglai Fairy Island lineage ultimately relies on you to flourish!"
Fairy Yunxi had clear thoughts. She and Liu Xu had many compelled reasons to join the Heavenly Charm Sect in the past.
Shui Lingxin was much better off than they had been.
Now, if she, Yunxi, successfully breaks through to Returning to Emptiness, having a cultivator of Returning to Emptiness to care for her, and with Shui Lingxin herself being a Transcendent God, they were quite capable of establishing a sect in the Earth Immortal Realm.
Even if Fairy Yunxi failed in her breakthrough, seeing how Fang Xi treated her with special regard, she would likely be protected in the future, which shouldn’t be a problem.
With this in mind, all obstacles in her heart were removed, which indeed greatly assisted her in overcoming the Heart Demon Tribulation.
"Today, to welcome Martial Niece Lingxin’s ascension, it seems that I will have to showcase my skills,"
Fang Xi laughed heartily as he prepared various delicacies and opened several bottles of aged wine, drinking merrily with the three women.
Liu Xu and Yunxi’s cheeks glowed red, blissfully inebriated.
"Who would have thought... Martial Uncle also has such Spiritual Chef skills?"
Shui Lingxin picked up a piece of Wild Beast meat, which was crystal clear like a piece of glass and offered an endless delight in the mouth, almost too good to swallow.
And the strands of Primordial Energy had been refined to be incredibly gentle, flowing warmly through her belly, nourishing her limbs, Magic Power, and blood. She couldn’t help but be amazed.
"Haha... Your Martial Uncle, I only have this one hobby,"
Fang Xi laughed heartily.
In fact, it was because his heterodox incarnation couldn’t cultivate before the main body’s breakthrough.
Later, with the "Mysterious Dark Banner" taken away, cultivation was only necessary for nurturing the Divine Infant Sword, Six Paths Demon Fire, and the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan each day.
Beyond this, there was no need to cultivate; one could only delve into the other Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation.
"Yunxi, have you acquired anything at the recent grand auction?"
Since Fang Xi and the three ladies were not outsiders, he opened his mouth to ask.
When it came to serious matters, both Yunxi and Liu Xu’s expressions turned somewhat solemn, "Yunxi was just about to tell you, Sir, thanks to the Immortal Jade you exchanged before, Yunxi managed to bid for a drop of ’Glass Immortal Dew’ at the grand auction!"
"Glass Immortal Dew?!"
Fang Xi frowned. This was also a spiritual object that could aid a Perfect Transcendent God cultivator in refining Immortal Origin Energy, although its effect was much less than that of the ’Biyi Breaking Virtual Pill’.
"That’s not all, sister and I used our contributions to exchange for a ’Brahma Gold Eight Consciousnesses Pill’ from the sect, which should be greatly beneficial for overcoming the Heart Demon Tribulation," said Liu Xu with a smile.
This was actually thanks to Fang Xi. Otherwise, despite the ladies having so many contributions, there was no telling how long they would have had to wait in line.
"With this, the preparation for your realm, magic power, and even the Heart Demon barrier is passable... How are the preparations for the Major Heavenly Tribulation?"
Fang Xi asked the most crucial question.
Mentioning this, Fairy Yunxi and Liu Xu exchanged a glance, seeming to have finally made a decision.
Fang Xi instantly understood that the opportunity the two women had received years ago must be related to the Major Heavenly Tribulation...
With a flick of her finger, Fairy Yunxi caused prohibitions to emerge all around.
Since Fang Xi’s dongfu was already laced with arrays and she still did so, it was clear that they were discussing an extremely important matter.
Upon seeing this scene, Shui Lingxin secretly circulated her magic power, dispelling a hint of tipsiness.
Fang Xi, however, wore a smile that was not quite a smile, holding his wine cup as he listened quietly.
"Have you ever heard of the ’Nine Nether Absolute Yin Meridian’?" asked Fairy Yunxi in a solemn voice.
"It seems to be a type of Yin Vein..."
Fang Xi raised an eyebrow, "Such Yin Veins should be quite rare in the Earth Immortal Realm."
"Exactly... During an operation to exterminate heterodox creatures, sister and I were targeted by a Primordial Chaos Beast. In our panic, we stumbled upon a ’Nine Nether Absolute Yin Meridian’... Within the Yin Vein, there was also the corpse of an ancient cultivator," Fairy Yunxi explained.
"Fortunes are numerous in the wilderness. Discovering a Nine Nether Yin Vein is indeed a sign of good fortune for both of you... But could it be that you wish to turn into Ghost Cultivators?" Fang Xi frowned.
While Ghost Cultivators enjoy long life, they must die to abandon their bodies, which is equivalent to starting a new life. Ghost Cultivators in the Lower Realm often lack their memories from life and are extremely bloodthirsty, completely different from their previous selves.
However, Fang Xi soon realized that those were just wild Ghost Cultivators.
True cultivators with secret techniques, like Old Ghost for instance, can even retain a semblance of rationality.
’And Old Ghost’s and Elder Yin’s secret techniques come from Green Emperor Mountain, whose Taoist system originates from the Earth Immortal Realm... So, within the Earth Immortal Realm, there should be secret techniques that allow one to become a Ghost Cultivator after transformation and still retain a cultivator’s rationality.’
Fang Xi took a sip of Spirit Wine and quietly awaited what was to come.
"From the remains of that ancient cultivator, sister and I discovered a Ghost Cultivation technique that can be cultivated up to the Integration Period..." Fairy Yunxi said with a bitter smile, "We could set aside that Ghost Cultivation technique, but there was one secret skill that truly captivated me..."
"Is it related to breaking through to Returning to Emptiness?" Fang Xi guessed in his mind.
"Precisely. There is a secret technique in the Earth Immortal Realm that allows cultivators who fail the ’Shattered Pill into Infant’ process to transform their Nascent Soul into a ’Dharmic Body Yuan-Infant.’ Although this kind of Yuan-Infant is weak in magic power and could never break through to the Transcendent God realm in their lifetime, it is still a Nascent Soul!" Liu Xu elaborated, "The Ghost Cultivation secret technique found is similar but far more ingenious. It is for use by Transcendent God cultivators..."
"If a Transcendent God cultivator trying to break through the barrier of Returning to Emptiness survives the Heart Demon Tribulation but lacks confidence in overcoming the Major Heavenly Tribulation, they may commit suicide by sword, transforming into a Ghost Cultivator... This type of Returning to Emptiness Ghost Cultivator is said to face a Major Heavenly Tribulation of reduced intensity, and can also retain memories from life..."
"Transforming into a ghost after death? Are there really no drawbacks to this secret technique?" Fang Xi furrowed his brows.
"To employ this secret technique requires some compatible pills and magical artifacts, which sister and I have already collected and refined completely. In addition, the most important thing is a ’Nine Nether Absolute Yin Meridian’... As for the costs?" Liu Xu answered with a bitter smile, "Becoming a Ghost Cultivator, henceforth unable to stray too far or for too long from the Yin Vein it relies on, and unable to ascend to Mahayana—do those count as costs?"
"Ghost Cultivators can’t ascend to Mahayana?" Fang Xi’s expression shifted slightly.
"Naturally. Sister and I have specifically perused numerous records of our sect and discovered that there has never been a Ghost Cultivator able to overcome the Mahayana Immortal Tribulation throughout history..." Liu Xu said without any resentment in her expression, "But sister and I are already content if we can break through to Returning to Emptiness. Ghost Cultivators have long life expectancy. If we ascend to Integration in the future, our life span might not be lesser than that of a Mahayana Monk. As for the Mahayana Individual Immortal, we dare not even think about it, so Ghost Cultivators not being able to ascend to Mahayana doesn’t affect us sisters at all."
"If this is the choice of both of you, I will protect you as your guardian..."
Fang Xi pondered and then solemnly promised.
As for thoughts like lending the ’Mixed Origin Heavenly Umbrella’? He hadn’t even considered it...
The ’Mixed Origin Heavenly Umbrella’ was a treasure of the Wang Family Ancestor, and if it were to be borrowed, his identity as the Wang Family Ancestor would be compromised.
It doesn’t matter how the heterodox incarnation acts wildly, as it’s not his true body either.
However, the identity of Wang Family Ancestor should be well maintained, without exposing any flaws.
Fang Xi thought for a moment and said, "Becoming a Ghost Cultivator is only a last resort. I will also lend a sixth-order Returning to Emptiness treasure. Although it’s not a Thunder Transformation Treasure, it should be somewhat useful in resisting the lightning tribulation..."
He remembered the life-bound magical artifacts of Old Lady Ning and Old Demon Ji, which could be utilized now.