Chapter 111 |
Several more hours passed. The number of disciples gathered on the plaza reached forty-nine.
“Ancestor…”
Qin Ruxue looked at the increasingly unstable spatial fissure and stepped forward to ask for instructions.
“Wait a little longer.”
Ruan Zhixuan’s mood was clearly poor. Beside her, True Personage Heiyuan wore an equally grim expression and offered no objection.
With both Core Formation cultivators behaving this way, Qin Ruxue could only wait.
One incense stick of time later, a human figure shot out from the spatial crack.
Almost the instant this person emerged, the fissure could no longer hold. It twisted violently, dissolved into countless silver motes of light, and vanished.
A terrifying void fluctuation spread outward, only to be blocked layer by layer by the protective array.
“Greetings, Ancestor.”
The last person to escape was none other than Linghu Qiuye. His appearance was haggard, clearly having suffered greatly.
“Mm. Since you made it out, we can return.”
Ruan Zhixuan remained expressionless and prepared to lead everyone away.
“Fellow Daoist, please hold a moment. We have yet to inspect this child’s harvest.”
True Personage Heiyuan could restrain himself no longer and spoke up sharply.
The several demonic path disciples he had placed high hopes on had still not appeared. It was obvious they had all perished inside the secret realm.
“Hehe. Our previous agreement contained no clause requiring us to display our gains to you.”
Ruan Zhixuan refused to yield an inch. Her words carried deeper meaning. “Or does Fellow Daoist intend to violate the Spirit Contract?”
True Personage Heiyuan’s face changed color. He gave a cold laugh. “How would this lord dare? That Spirit Contract was personally retrieved by Fellow Daoist from your sect’s secret vault. It ranks as third-rank superior. Even a Core Formation perfection cultivator who breaks it would suffer grievous injury. This lord has no desire to perish. Hmph. We are leaving as well.”
In his heart he seethed with hatred. He had already concluded that the seeds he favored had been killed by Linghu Qiuye. The most valuable treasures from this secret realm were surely inside that person’s storage bag!
No wonder Ruan Zhixuan had not even glanced at them before trying to leave at once!
Linghu Qiuye, on the other hand, looked as if he wanted to speak but held back. He stared at the demonic path disciples opposite him yet did not see the one who had attacked him earlier. For a moment his heart filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
Verdant Jade Island.
After confirming that Qin Ruxue, Xiang Dahu, and the others had safely returned, Fang Qing stopped paying attention and resumed his silent cultivation.
Inside his dantian qi sea, more than twenty drops of liquid mana had formed a deep emerald pool, radiating unfathomable waves of power.
“Dao-Genesis Pearl!”
With a thought from Fang Qing, the primordial qi he had stored within the Dao-Genesis Pearl during early Foundation Establishment poured down like a torrent. His mana surged violently, instantly reaching fifty drops of liquid mana and arriving at the absolute limit of mid Foundation Establishment.
Even then, although more primordial qi remained, he sensed a layer of bottleneck preventing him from breaking through this upper limit.
The feeling was exactly the same as when he had reached the early Foundation Establishment mana cap and swallowing Water Essence Pills could only restore his mana without allowing him to surpass the bottleneck.
By the same logic, if he completely converted this mana into his Dao Foundation, he would still only reach the peak of early Foundation Establishment at best.
‘Is this my strongest combat power right now?’
Fang Qing pondered inwardly. ‘Mid Foundation Establishment is difficult to break through. It must be due to my limited aptitude. I have hit another bottleneck. If I possessed heaven-grade spiritual roots, I could charge straight to Core Formation…’
Back when he was at Qi Refining or Qi Ingestion, even a slight conversion of mana had allowed him to break through minor layers. That was simply because his mid-grade aptitude had been sufficient and he had not yet encountered any major bottlenecks.
Smaller bottlenecks were naturally shattered by the impact of his powerful mana.
After Foundation Establishment, however, mid-grade aptitude was no longer enough. Trying to force a breakthrough with sheer mana power would either succeed by luck or result in heavy injury, or even death and Dao dissipation. Fang Qing naturally refused to gamble.
Still, if he paired it with second-rank pills that could strengthen the meridians and then madly poured in mana to assault the bottleneck, there might be a two or three-tenths chance of success. Even if he succeeded he would still suffer serious injury and damage his foundation. But with the Long-Awaited Sweet Rain Dao Foundation, he could slowly nurse himself back to health. This was a secret breakthrough method only he could use.
Of course, in terms of effectiveness, the Barrier-Breaking Pill remained the best option.
Several days later.
Inside the Mystic Jade Cave.
“You mean… Ancestor Ruan questioned Martial Nephew Linghu, and her expression changed drastically?”
Fang Qing listened to Qin Ruxue describe what had happened on the return journey and could not help smiling.
Clearly, anyone who thought they had won only to discover they had been played would lose composure.
The fact that Ancestor Ruan had not severely punished Martial Nephew Linghu already showed remarkable self-restraint.
“On the way back, another disciple reported an important piece of news. In the core zone he saw a Five Elements Fruit Tree. Several immature Five Elements Spirit Fruits still hung from its branches. He was blocked by restrictions and could not take them. However, the one who discovered the tree with him was a demonic path disciple. I fear the news cannot be kept secret…”
Qin Ruxue explained.
“Oh?”
Fang Qing was slightly surprised, then understood. This must not have been on the same route as Senior Brother Ruan.
With so many core disciples from the Blue Sea Sect, they could naturally split into several teams to explore as much of the secret realm’s core region as possible.
“A Five Elements Fruit Tree…”
He knew this spiritual plant well. “The Five Elements Spirit Fruits it bears possess miraculous effects for helping Pseudo-Core cultivators break through the Core Formation bottleneck. They can increase the chance of success by roughly ten percent. It is said that in ancient times, before Core Formation pill formulas existed, the ancient cultivators directly consumed Five Elements Spirit Fruits to form their golden cores…”
Fang Qing knew this precisely because the Five Elements Spirit Fruit served as the main medicinal ingredient in the Core Formation pill formula.
A single Core Formation pill could increase the chances of success for a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, in other words a Pseudo-Core cultivator, by roughly twenty to thirty percent.
“According to the spirit plant elder’s estimate, those fruits will reach full maturity in a few more decades. At that time the sect can send disciples equipped with specialized restriction-breaking artifacts to harvest them without issue.”
Qin Ruxue continued.
Although the disciple had failed to obtain the spirit fruits, he had recorded the map and the type of restrictions involved.
Handing that information to the sect’s upper echelons for study and the creation of targeted breaking treasures was not particularly difficult.
“When will the secret realm open next?”
Fang Qing asked.
“By estimation, this opening has accelerated the collapse of the restrictions. The next opening should occur in sixty years,” Qin Ruxue replied. “After discovering the Five Elements Fruit Tree, some of the sect’s higher-ups have already suggested that future entrants can carry spirit herb seeds and plant them in suitable locations to gradually develop and transform the secret realm into our sect’s dedicated spirit medicine garden.”
“Quite far-sighted, but the Sea-Destroying Alliance of the demonic path lies right beside us.”
Fang Qing shook his head, not particularly optimistic about the proposal unless they could eliminate True Personage Heiyuan first and also block visitors from the Eastern Sea cultivation world.
While they were still discussing the matter, a transmission talisman flew in.
Fang Qing smiled. “They have arrived.”
With a wave of his hand he opened the cave residence restrictions and allowed the three to enter.
The three were Xiang Dahu, Miao Yifan, and Bei Lingshu.
Their survival rate was already extremely high. In contrast, Li Tianlong and Shu Rou, whom Fang Qing had held slightly higher expectations for, had not made it out of the secret realm alive.
It could only be said that aside from Xiang Dahu, who had received his secret empowerment, the other disciples still needed a bit of luck to survive.
No matter how capable Li Tianlong and Shu Rou had been, bad luck meant death.
Fang Qing had never cared about the dead. He looked at the three and smiled. “Take turns coming with me to the secret chamber for the exchange. The chamber has restrictions in place, so only you and I will know the details of the trade. Mm, Miao Yifan, you first.”
Hearing the arrangement, all three disciples visibly relaxed.
Miao Yifan entered the secret chamber and immediately bowed, shame coloring his face. “Reporting to Martial Uncle, this disciple is useless. I only managed to find this one stalk of second-rank superior Quenching Origin Flower.”
As he spoke he took out a jade box.
Fang Qing examined it and confirmed it was indeed a second-rank superior spirit herb, one required for refining second-rank superior Barrier-Breaking Pills. He nodded. “Since that is the case, our accounts are settled. I have nothing else to bestow upon you. You may leave.”
“Yes!”
Miao Yifan bowed and withdrew.
Whether the man had truly been stripped of most of his gains by the sect and had no more rare spirit herbs left, or whether he was hiding private treasures, or had been coerced or tempted by other elders, Fang Qing had almost no interest in finding out.
After all, the man was merely cannon fodder and a smokescreen.
Bei Lingshu, however, gave Fang Qing a pleasant surprise. She produced several spirit herbs roughly eight hundred years old, enough to gather the complete set of materials for a second-rank Barrier-Breaking Pill and even another pill that could increase mid Foundation Establishment mana.
“You have done well.”
Fang Qing looked at the delicate, herb-scented female cultivator standing before him like a modest maiden from a good family. “The total contribution of these items falls short of a single Foundation Establishment Pill, but I will bestow upon you one bottle of Long-Awaited Sweet Rain. This substance is excellent for nourishing the foundation. Even if a Foundation Establishment attempt fails, it can quickly restore one’s vitality. Its effectiveness lasts only a few months. By the way, have you exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill quota from the sect?”
“This disciple used most of the contribution points earned to secure one Foundation Establishment Pill quota. Thank you, Martial Uncle.”
Bei Lingshu bowed once more, then suddenly asked, “Martial Uncle, this disciple has a question. If a Blue Sea Sect disciple secretly harms a fellow disciple inside the secret realm, how should it be handled?”
“According to our sect rules, those who harm fellow disciples shall die!”
Fang Qing answered casually.
“Thank you for clearing up my doubt, Martial Uncle.”
Bei Lingshu bowed again. When she rose, she seemed noticeably more relaxed.
‘Interesting!’
Fang Qing commented inwardly, then finally called Xiang Dahu in.
“Young Master!”
Xiang Dahu’s expression was filled with excitement.
“Wait a moment.”
Fang Qing waved a hand. Sensing that Qin Ruxue had already seen the other two disciples off and activated the cave residence array, he nodded.
With both the cave residence array and the secret chamber restrictions layered together, not even a Core Formation divine sense could penetrate inside.
“It is fine now.”
Once he spoke, Xiang Dahu immediately sliced open a patch of flesh on his abdomen, retrieved the Mystical Wood Ring, and presented it with both hands.
Fang Qing accepted it. With a sweep of his hand, one spiritual item after another floated into view, filling the secret chamber with dazzling multicolored light.
Even though he had already known what to expect, the sight of so many treasures still made Fang Qing’s breathing grow slightly heavier.
He first picked up a pale-yellow second-rank demon core and smiled. “You truly had some luck. With this demon core I no longer need to venture out to hunt one myself. You also exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect, correct? I will bestow three more Foundation Establishment Pills upon you. Although you may not need them yourself, after Foundation Establishment you can trade them for precious resources or use them to nurture your own people.”
With the empowerment Fang Qing had given him paired with even one Foundation Establishment Pill, success was basically guaranteed.
“Everything is thanks to Young Master’s grace. This disciple accepts with shame.”
Xiang Dahu spoke respectfully.
“Very well. You may leave.”
Fang Qing waved his hand. “Once you reach Foundation Establishment, I will have more treasures to bestow.”
After sending Xiang Dahu away, Fang Qing’s eyes gleamed as he began inspecting the items one by one with utmost care.
First were three talisman treasures: a Sea Calming Ring, an Azure Shortsword, and a pitch-black ancient dagger-axe. None were brand new; each looked usable for another one or two times at most.
These were stolen goods and could not be used openly.
Next, Fang Qing opened a jade box and saw a third-rank spirit herb glowing with purple radiance.
“Purple Radiant Water-Chestnut Flower, the main material for a third-rank Great Barrier-Breaking Pill. If Xiang Dahu had brought this out directly, the sect would have requisitioned it immediately.”
“And these many thousand-year spirit herbs are enough to refine large quantities of mana-increasing pills.”
“With these, my path to peak Foundation Establishment will be completely smooth.”
He stored the spirit herbs away one by one and let out a long breath of relief in his heart.
Next came various third-rank ores and materials.
“Third-rank Heavy Profound Crystal, Emerald Origin Watercore, both sufficient to serve as main materials for magical treasures and quite valuable.”
“Ten-thousand-year ironwood, Qingyuan Wood. These seem suitable for crafting high-grade puppets or even third-rank talisman skins to refine third-rank talismans?”
“Finally, some second-rank demon beast materials. This Four-Armed Crocodile Dragon possesses an extraordinary bloodline and makes excellent material for both artifact refining and alchemy.”