Chapter 92: Chapter 91 Mu Xiu (Request for Monthly Ticket) _1 Chapter 92: Chapter 91 Mu Xiu (Request for Monthly Ticket) _1 After a period of diligent labor, he looked over the now expanded cave.
Fang Xi sat on a rock, took out the jade slip of ‘Eternal Spring Skills,’ and slowly pondered over it.
This place was naturally intended for his own tree planting!
As such, the likelihood of exposure at the beginning was extremely small.
Moreover, should trouble arise and his secret be revealed, or even if he were besieged by powerful enemies, he could escape from the cliffs on the other side and jump directly into Thousand Island Lake.
Once in the lake, he could use the water to conceal his movements and pass through undetected—truly seamless!
This was a precautionary measure.
‘Hmm… With this arrangement, at most I’d fail to cultivate ‘Eternal Spring Skills,’ and the damage to my body and Magic Power would be minimal…’
After several attempts of studying the cultivation methods, Fang Xi came to a conclusion.
Moments later, he put away the jade slip and took out that dull gray seed.
This was the one he had carefully selected from among the three seeds, the one brimming with the fullest vitality.
As for the Monster Tree from the Great Liang World, he would be insane to even consider it!
Underneath the soft glow of the night pearl, Fang Xi chanted indecipherable, complicated musical notes, and suddenly, strands of green light burst forth from his eyes.
The next moment, he took out a magic tool dagger, dispelled his True Gang, and forcefully sliced open the skin on his finger, letting drops of blood fall onto the Spirit Seed.
Gurgle gurgle!
A strange thing happened.
The blood that fell on the seed was quickly absorbed, as if the seed was eagerly drinking it up!
And on the surface of the seed, fine Blood Runes appeared and then quickly faded away, vanishing without a trace…
This was the initial preparation for sacrificing and refining one’s Life-bound Spirit Plant in the ‘Eternal Spring Skills’!
Washing the Spirit Seed with Magic Power daily and supplementing it with Essence Blood to establish a connection!
Since this was a seed of the Monster Tree, Fang Xi made even more thorough preparations, aiming to be fully prepared for any eventuality.
After completing his daily practices, Fang Xi hesitated for a moment.
After staring blankly for a while, a ruthless look suddenly flashed across his face, and he grabbed the Spirit Seed, his fingers moving skillfully as if rotating Yin and Yang!
“Ha!”
Fang Xi let out a loud shout, activating ‘Qi Throughout the Body,’ covering himself in a Blood Red coat.
“Mixed Origin True Skill!”
He practiced his martial skills move by move, concentrating his refined martial intentions in the palm of his hand, continuously refining the Spirit Seed!
This was Dugu Wuwang’s ‘Devil Swallowing Skills’!
Using the blood, intent, will of a Grandmaster to continuously bombard and refine the residual will inside the Demon Seed!
By now, Fang Xi had almost confirmed that there was no other residue of spirit within this Spirit Seed, only his own mark remained.
“It’s a pity… If only I could ascend to the realm of ‘True Gang Transforming Form,’ it would be even more certain!”
After completing the set of martial arts, Fang Xi looked at the Spirit Seed and felt a bit emotional, but soon he set aside his worries.
Dugu Wuwang, who was merely a Body Refining Grandmaster, had devoured a piece of the Kylin Demon’s Flesh and Blood and had survived for so long without harm.
Fang Xi, as an Immortal Cultivator, with the Calming Pill medicine prepared, would not be defeated by a mere Demon Seed!
It would be different if it were the main body of the Monster Tree!
…
After a busy session, Fang Xi concealed the entrance to the cliff and crawled back to the Cultivation Room through the secret passage.
Sitting cross-legged, Fang Xi calmed his mind and began to cultivate ‘Eternal Spring Skills’!
Once the cycle of cultivation was complete, he would leave the Cultivation Room, go to the Talisman-making Room to learn to draw talismans, or try refining tools in the Refining Chamber.
His tranquil life was just that simple and unadorned.
Every day he tended to the Spiritual Field, dug out caverns, practiced cultivation methods, and then tried to learn the artisan skills of Cultivation…
Fang Xi had already collected as many inheritances as possible when he was in Baochuan Market.
And after several months of experimentation, he had to admit he had no special talents in alchemy, talisman creation, or tool forging.
To make any progress, he would have to consume large amounts of materials!
This outcome somewhat disappointed Fang Xi.
It proved that he was indeed no genius.
However, the breeding log left by Miao Dong allowed him to figure out some techniques, and he made quite fast progress as a Spirit Plant Farmer.
“Could it be that my talents all lie in raising Spiritual Beasts and cultivating Spirit Plants?” Fang Xi began to suspect.
Besides, there was the tradition of puppet skills which he had always been eager to learn. Since it was quite obscure, he had received no news about it.
Actually, Fang Xi believed that in the cultivation pavilions of those big families, there should be inheritances of puppet skills.
But without them publicizing it, he had no idea where even to begin to look for them!
“Never mind… Where in the world can one find perfection?”
“The preparations I’ve made recently should be sufficient.”
Fang Xi gazed at the slowly ceasing raindrops outside the window and made a decision to himself, “It’s time… to set up the ‘Little Cloud Rain Array’.”
…
Summer rains come and go swiftly.
The next day, it was suddenly a cloudless, sunny day.
Fang Xi grabbed a fish basket and leapt off Jadeite Cliff!
Whoosh!
A Black Cloud Cap immediately appeared and supported his form.
He glided over the surface of the lake, chose a rocky outcrop, cast his fishing rod, and began to fish.
In Thousand Island Lake, there are Spirit Fish!
Even many cultivators make their living off it, like Miao Dong, who raised Water Old Crows.
Fang Xi, however, wasn’t trying to catch Spirit Fish; he was just looking for some fun.
Several hours later, a giant paper crane leisurely flew in from the direction of Mirror Moon Lake.
Fang Xi glanced at his empty fish basket, put the fishing rod and basket into his Storage Bag, and went to meet it.
“Haha… Mr. Fang, you seem rather leisurely today. How many fish have you caught?”
Seeing Fang Xi’s action, Xiumu jokingly asked with a smile.
As everyone knows, living things cannot be put into a Storage Bag.
“Farming and fishing, it’s all about nurturing the heart!”
Fang Xi’s face was stern as he replied.
“Hahaha!”
Xiumu laughed heartily, feeling uplifted. He had been sarcastically mocked by Fang Xi many times before, but today, he felt like he could finally breathe easy.
“Xiumu, what brings you here today?” Fang Xi curled his lip in disdain, not in the mood to squabble with the old man who seemed one foot in the grave.
He could tell that Xiumu’s cultivation could no longer suppress the decay of his body, as he was emanating waves of death energy.
This man’s time was clearly approaching; his willingness to risk his life was for the sake of his descendants.
“Today is a joyous occasion. My descendants have all arrived. I’ve come specially to invite Sir Fang to join the celebration,” Xiumu said, bowing earnestly. “In the future, I’ll have to entrust my great-grandson to Sir Fang.”
“That’s your family’s affair…”
Fang Xi kept shaking his head, but seeing Xiumu’s almost pleading look and remembering the favor where he had lent twenty Spirit Stones, he reluctantly nodded, “Fine, I’ll go enjoy a cup of Water Wine…”
He took out his Black Cloud Cap and slowly followed Xiumu toward Gemini East Peak.
“Spirit Land, ah…”
Xiumu was old and frail, and it seemed his Magic Power had also greatly diminished. The paper crane he was controlling wasn’t much faster than an adult’s running speed, which gave him the opportunity to speak his thoughts to Fang Xi. “We’ve come upon good times indeed, thanks to the kindness of the Island Master, who is as good as his word… When the Mu Family’s ancestor opened up the cultivation realm of Thousand Island Lake, he was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, leading his people through thick and thin. Eight of my uncles perished before they barely managed to open a Spirit Island, only to have it cunningly taken away. The ancestor was so angry he coughed up blood and died…”
“The descendants were incompetent, living as tenant farmers, ostensibly a Qi Refining family, but in reality, they were rootless Individual Cultivators…”
“By my generation, we barely survived by leveraging the connections we’ve built up, doing some trading of information and odd jobs for Middlemen…”
“But now, the Mu Family finally has a piece of land to pass on. When I, Mu Xiu, pass away, I can face our ancestors with dignity…”
‘Mu Xiu’—that was Xiumu’s real name.
His complexion was rosy, which seemed much like the brief resurgence of health seen before the end of one’s life.
Fang Xi was afraid Xiumu wouldn’t catch his breath and would plummet straight from the magical instrument.
Thankfully, Xiumu controlled his magical instrument steadily, and they slowly reached Gemini East Peak.
The peak was not very tall, lush with trees, and indeed quite picturesque.
On a node where spiritual energy converged, several rows of wooden houses had been built; some still had their bark, exuding a fresh scent of timber and grass.
Several men, women, and children were bustling about. Upon seeing Xiumu, they hurriedly came up to salute him, calling him ‘Elder Ancestor’!
Fang Xi looked over and saw dozens of people of all ages, evidently a large family group.
Among them were two or three elderly individuals nearly as old as Xiumu. Their cultivation was only at the second or third layer of Qi Refining, and their faces and hands were etched with the marks of a life hard-lived. There was even a quality Fang Xi found familiar, likely similar to tenant Spirit Farmers of other families.
‘These few must not only have poor Spiritual Roots but have also been exploited by large households. With no time for cultivation, they hoard little Spirit Crystals to secretly give to the younger generations. Their cultivation is negligible, their whole lives essentially wasted…’ Fang Xi speculated inwardly but outwardly showed a smile, greeting each in turn.
Xiumu took him to a young man in a brocade robe with handsome features and introduced him solemnly, “This is my great-grandson—Mu Wen. At just over twenty, he has reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining, almost comparable to Sir Fang in talent. He’s going to be the next head of the Mu Family…”
At this, Mu Wen showed a modest sense of pride.
But then he heard Xiumu continue, “Wen’er, come and pay respects to your Uncle Fang! Not only is your Uncle Fang skilled at farming, but he also, with a sword, nearly cut through the entire Lu Family, displaying a bit of the sword cultivator’s style!”
“Pleased to meet you, Uncle Fang!”
Mu Wen came forward somewhat reluctantly to pay respects to Fang Xi, who looked to be not much older than himself, while thinking disdainfully, ‘One man with a sword, cut through the Lu Family? They only had Qi Refining cultivators at the time, with a late-stage powerhouse as backup. If I tried, I could do it too!’
“My dear nephew, please rise…” Fang Xi held up his hands as if to help him up: “In terms of talent, I’m just average.”
In truth, he was well aware of his own circumstances.
If it weren’t for the resources brought in through inter-realm trade to buy pills, by now he’d probably still be struggling at the third layer of Qi Refining!
“Manlou, did you hear that? These individual cultivators at over twenty are just at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, and they still think it’s something to be proud of…”
A White Jade Boat suddenly arrived, stopping abruptly in the air above.
Mo Qingyu jumped down and said to Feng Man Building on the boat, “Within the Mo Family, if a descendant cannot break through the fourth layer of Qi Refining by twenty-five, they would only be sent to work in the family’s Spiritual Field or the shops…”