Chapter 109: Three Joys at Once
Chapter 109: Three Joys at Once
Beneath the peach blossom tree.
"Brother Fang, I truly regret it. . ."
Feng Man Lou, already looking middle-aged with slightly frosted temples, didn't choose his usual favorite peach blossom wine. Instead, he filled a large bowl with Bloodfire Wine, gulped it down in one go, and then complained dejectedly.
"Why bother with such things? Mu Wen's moment of glory was also hard-won through risk. You chose stability, at least you have a beautiful wife and beloved children, enjoying several years of carefree life. It's not a loss. . ."
Fang Xi, clad in a green robe, wore a serene expression.
Feng Man Lou gazed at Fang Xi, only to feel that the other man remained in his prime, while he himself was slowly aging. He couldn't help but feel even more sorrowful: "Come. . . let's drink!"
Fang Xi did not choose the Bloodfire Wine, but instead took a bottle of peach blossom wine.
This wine had an azure-green hue and a faint peach blossom aroma. It was mellow on the palate and much beloved by cultivators.
Gazing at the jade-like, handsome young man beneath the peach blossom tree, and feeling the ethereal, tranquil, and yet vibrant aura emanating from him, Feng Man Lou couldn't help but believe, deep down, that this was truly a dedicated cultivator who had seen through fame and fortune and disliked strife. He sincerely said, "Brother Fang. . . I have learned much!"
"If the world deceives me, wrongs me, insults me, what should I do? " Fang Xi plucked a peach blossom branch and said indifferently, "Just endure it, yield to it, avoid it. . . and let a hundred years pass, then go and see them!"
"What then, after a hundred years? " Feng Man Lou's eyes lit up.
"After a hundred years, of course, both my enemies and I will have turned to dust. Unless everyone somehow achieves Foundation Establishment? " Fang Xi rolled his eyes in reply.
After sending off Feng Man Lou, who was still bewildered and lost in philosophical and Zen debate, Fang Xi went to his cultivation chamber.
He circulated the 'Evergreen Art' once; the bottleneck still showed no sign of loosening.
His face utterly calm, he affixed a 'protective talisman' to the back of his cultivation chamber door, then entered the secret passage and arrived at the underground cavern.
Swoosh!
A massive, inky-black banyan tree nearly filled the entire cavern!
It was a full three zhang tall! Its canopy overshadowed the sky and sun, countless aerial roots hung down, and the ground was covered in crisscrossing rootlets.
The mid-grade first-tier Taisui huddled in a corner, trembling, as if terrified that the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning would devour it whole. . .
'This Taisui. . . ever since it advanced to mid-grade first-tier, it's gotten smarter. . . '
'Such behavior. . . could it be about to advance to a high-grade first-tier demonic beast? '
Fang Xi comforted the Taisui through their blood contract link, feeling a faint excitement in his heart.
If the Taisui reached high-grade first-tier, the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning's growth rate would surely ascend another step!
As per usual, after cutting flesh to feed the tree, Fang Xi sat cross-legged beneath the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning and began cultivating the 'Longevity Art'!
Thump!
Thump! Thump!
This day, it seemed, was different from usual!
After one aerial root burrowed into Fang Xi's back, a second came, then a third. . .
Meanwhile, Fang Xi was in a state of self-oblivion, circulating the 'Longevity Art', relying solely on instinct to continuously absorb the essence of plants and trees, and the power of the sun, moon, and annual rings from the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning. . .
Within his spiritual perception, Fang Xi could 'see' the countless emerald-green networks originally rooted within his body finally taking complete form at this moment, connecting with each other, allowing streams of wood-element qi to permeate them and spread throughout his entire body!
The 'Azure Wood Spirit Body'—achieved!
Boom!
The next instant, Fang Xi felt his head spin. When he regained his senses, he felt his entire body brimming with vitality, completely incomparable to before!
"This is. . . the 'Azure Wood Spirit Body'?"
He touched his face, a glimmer of crystal light flashing in his eyes: "Ten years. . . confined to one place, cultivating assiduously for ten years. . . my 'Azure Wood Spirit Body' is finally achieved!"
Almost immediately, Fang Xi eagerly tried to circulate the 'Evergreen Art' technique, beginning to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth! This perception instantly filled him with a hint of awe.
Fang Xi only felt that, under an external spiritual pressure, numerous streams of spiritual energy surged into his body at several times their usual speed!
And his body was able to fully absorb this spiritual energy, circulating it through his meridians, integrating it into his Sea of Qi Dantian, and transforming it into spiritual power!
His cultivation speed, in one go, increased severalfold!
This feeling was so wonderful that he involuntarily immersed himself in the circulation of the technique again and again, oblivious to the passage of time outside.
Finally!
Fang Xi felt that the Evergreen spiritual power within his Sea of Qi Dantian reached a certain limit, and even as it continuously circulated, it carved out entirely new pathways within his body.
His spiritual power also surged by nearly double in an instant!
The 'Evergreen Art' technique advanced another level, entering the late stage of Qi Refinement, level seven!
"Haha. . . after becoming a genius comparable to a superior-grade spirit root, the bottleneck of late-stage Qi Refinement is no longer a bottleneck!"
"The achievement of the Azure Wood Spirit Body, coupled with breaking through to late-stage Qi Refinement—truly two joys converging today!"
Fang Xi opened his eyes, laughing heartily.
He was only thirty-three years old now. Even if the 'Longevity Art' failed, at least his Azure Wood Spirit Body remained.
With his current aptitude, Foundation Establishment was hopeful! Longevity was hopeful!
"Eh?"
Fang Xi suddenly felt something was amiss. He opened his eyes, then closed them. . . he felt as if a third 'eye' had appeared at his glabella! Under this 'eye', even with his eyes closed, everything within a three-zhang radius was still clearly visible.
Not only that, he could even observe himself from different angles.
Within his field of vision, he could see a young man in green robes, sitting cross-legged, eyes slightly closed!
"This seems to be. . . Divine Consciousness? !"
Having the prior experience of his spiritual sense leaving his body with the aid of an artifact during the auction, Fang Xi quickly recognized that this was the 'Divine Consciousness' unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators!
"It is said that even early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators can extend their Divine Consciousness twenty to thirty zhang away, and within the range of their Divine Consciousness, everything is revealed in minute detail!"
"Although my current limit is only three zhang, it is indeed Divine Consciousness!"
"This, this. . . could this be a special property of the 'Azure Wood Spirit Body', that it can help a cultivator cultivate Divine Consciousness prematurely, even at late-stage Qi Refinement? !"
"Or is it the special nature of the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning? Or the result of various factors combined?"
Fang Xi somewhat understood why those major sects eagerly pursued cultivators with spirit bodies.
"Now. . . my blood-qi is like a dragon, and I've cultivated Divine Consciousness! Of the three vital components for Foundation Establishment—essence, qi, and spirit—two have actually been surmounted!"
He found it somewhat hard to believe: "Doesn't this mean that once I reach the perfected tenth level of Qi Refinement, even without consuming other pills, I'll have a thirty to forty percent chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment?"
Of course, attempting Foundation Establishment purely by oneself without dying would result in severe injuries, and Fang Xi certainly wouldn't choose that path.
If he were to attempt Foundation Establishment, he would definitely take a Foundation Establishment Pill to ensure stability.
"Divine Consciousness, I actually cultivated Divine Consciousness!"
Fang Xi eagerly walked out of the underground cavern and, using his own Divine Consciousness, re-observed the world.
Inside the pond, the Big Green Fish was stealthily cultivating demonic qi, its dead fish eyes constantly watching Fang Xi, terrified he would turn it into sashimi.
After all, the ten-year period had arrived!
And in the insect chamber, more than half of the stag beetles, bred several times, were already tinged with green, clearly quite useful.
Fang Xi then went outside, walking near the fields.
His Divine Consciousness limit was now three zhang, or ten meters away, so he had to observe closely.
Inside the wooden shed, Lu Guo was diligently meditating and cultivating.
And in a corner underground, several low-grade spirit stones were buried; he had no idea how the boy had managed to save them up.
Fang Xi then went to the entrance of Widow Wang's house. With a sweep of his Divine Consciousness, he instantly covered his eyes, having seen something he shouldn't have.
He turned and left immediately. Fortunately, when Divine Consciousness sweeps past, most Qi Refinement cultivators are unable to detect it, otherwise, it would have been quite awkward. . .
...
Several days later.
Inside the courtyard, beneath the peach blossom tree.
After these few days of exploration, Fang Xi finally became familiar with his Divine Consciousness, able to extend and retract it at will.
At this moment, he put down a jade slip he was holding.
This jade slip, astonishingly, contained the 'Elementary Principles of Array Dao', a legacy of array formation!
This time, those originally complex and profound array patterns had actually become much simpler.
"With the aid of Divine Consciousness, everyone is a small genius!"
"No wonder the jade slip recommends cultivating Divine Consciousness before starting; the difficulty truly drops significantly. . ."
Fang Xi felt a wave of emotion.
After cultivating Divine Consciousness, he felt his senses sharpen and his mind work several times faster. He couldn't help but pick up the legacies of the four cultivation arts that he previously found hard to master.
The result was. . . what he had once considered incredibly difficult hurdles had actually turned into a smooth path!
"Unfortunately. . . my financial resources and time are ultimately limited. Every day, I still have to cultivate the 'Evergreen Art' and 'Longevity Art', and incidentally, farm and raise fish. . ."
Fang Xi thought for a moment and then made his choice.
Since he had these conditions, he naturally had to focus on array formations, which were at the top of the "chain of disdain"!
Then, secondary, he would learn alchemy!
As for artifact refinement and talisman crafting? He could only leave that to fate. . .
Of course, if during his study, he genuinely discovered an extraordinary talent in one particular art, far surpassing the other three, Fang Xi would naturally adjust his focus in time.
"Haha. . . now I'm a little genius in array formations too."
Fang Xi laughed heartily, taking out the operational jade slip he had purchased along with the Small Cloud Rain Array.
With his current Divine Consciousness, looking at the jade slip again immediately brought him many more insights.
"The way I set up this array before was too rigid. . ."
"An array should be living. These few array nodes can be modified, and if arranged this way, its power could increase by a few more points. . ."
"This spot seems to have an oversight. . ."
Fang Xi walked within the array, observing it with his Divine Consciousness, comparing it to the array diagram, and indeed discovered many more discrepancies.
Back then, he was practically blind!
Now, he could finally open his eyes and see the full scope of this array!
At this point, he swept his Divine Consciousness, seeing Widow Wang working not far away. His gaze couldn't help but linger over her figure: "Didn't realize it, she's really hidden it well. . ."
The next moment, Fang Xi's expression was as usual, and he exchanged a few polite words with Widow Wang.
Wood-element cultivation methods were inherently good at concealing aura, and he was already several realms higher than Widow Wang and Lu Guo. With his deliberate concealment, these two wouldn't be able to discover that he had already broken through to late-stage Qi Refinement!
"As for Ruan Xing Ling. . . I still need to figure out a way to hide it from her."
After all, he had initially established a persona of a diligent cultivator with poor aptitude, but now he had suddenly broken through. How would he explain that?
He hadn't, like the heads of the Feng and Mo families, purchased realm-breaking pills!
"Late-stage Qi Refinement at thirty-three years old—this aptitude is a bit out of the ordinary. I should still conceal it. . ."
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