Chapter 171: Evergreen Wood (Please vote for me! )
Chapter 171: Evergreen Wood (Please vote for me! )
The old man was speechless for a good while, then pondered. "There actually is one. . . "
He fumbled around in his storage pouch for a moment, then pulled out a jade slip. "Take a look. . ."
Fang Xi took it, his Divine Consciousness entering within.
A partial cultivation art immediately appeared—"Minor Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art"!
"Hehe, this secret art was simplified from a renowned demonic divine ability. . . After casting it, a cultivator's magical power can surge by three layers, but a severe depletion of vitality, or even a shortened lifespan, will be unavoidable afterward. . ."
The old man chuckled. "I wonder if it satisfies the customer's needs?"
"Excellent!"
Fang Xi nodded.
Moreover, his lifespan was exceptionally long, over four hundred and twenty years. In the future, he could continue to cultivate his Demonic Tree to extend his life even further, so he truly didn't take this small consumption to heart.
"I'll take this one, and the Hundred Illusions Art from before! What's the price?"
Fang Xi asked with a smile.
"Well then. . . eight hundred Spirit Stones in total! " The old man, delighted at having snagged a fat sheep, quickly named his price.
"How about offsetting the cost with this item?"
Fang Xi didn't haggle, directly tossing over a storage pouch of the smallest capacity.
"Just a tattered storage pouch. . ."
The old man grumbled, then swept his spiritual sense into the storage pouch. His eyes immediately went wide. "This. . . this. . ."
"This item should be enough to cover the price, wouldn't you say?"
Fang Xi asked with a smile.
"Of course, my. . . fellow Daoist is incredibly generous. " The old man was speechless for a long moment, finally responding with a wry smile. "This old man will fetch the complete texts now. . ."
...
After completing the transaction, Fang Xi, clutching the two complete secret arts, quickly vanished into the crowd, feeling rather pleased.
The item he used for the trade was, naturally, Situ Jia's White Bone Spirit Artifact.
Its demonic characteristics were far too obvious, and it carried too many implications. He couldn't openly use it, so he simply fenced the stolen goods.
"What a pity. . . I've looked around, but still haven't found any third-order Spirit Wood."
Fang Xi sighed, then suddenly made a decision and headed towards the very center of the black market.
Although the stall owners in this area concealed their appearances, they unreservedly emitted Foundation Establishment stage magical power fluctuations, causing the Qi Refinement cultivators to be especially cautious.
Before one such cultivator, dressed in a green robe with a green light obscuring his face, lay a large quantity of century-old spirit herbs and several sections of spirit wood. Unfortunately, they were all second-order.
Fang Xi approached this person's stall and picked up a purple bamboo stalk.
"This young friend has excellent eyesight. This 'Purple Heart Bamboo' is already two hundred years old, enough to refine a mid-grade Spirit Artifact. . ."
The green-robed cultivator chuckled, evidently not having noticed that Fang Xi was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"It is indeed good. . ."
Fang Xi put down the Purple Cloud Bamboo, but let out a soft sigh. "Alas. . . this item doesn't meet my needs."
"Oh? Then what does this young friend require?"
The green-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator's voice was devoid of joy or sorrow, yet carried an inexplicable pressure.
"Third-order Spirit Wood, I wonder if fellow Daoist possesses any?"
Fang Xi smiled faintly, transmitting his message via Divine Consciousness.
This was a skill essential for Foundation Establishment cultivators. The green-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator paused, then likewise replied via Divine Consciousness transmission. "So, it is a fellow Daoist. . . Daoist requires third-order Spirit Wood?"
"Precisely so. . ."
Sometimes, intentionally concealing one's cultivation level could easily lead to trouble.
Conversely, the identity of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, acquiring third-order items, was much easier to understand.
Seeing that the green-robed individual didn't refuse, but merely fell into contemplation, Fang Xi inwardly knew there was a chance and waited quietly.
A moment later, a Divine Consciousness transmission arrived. "This old man indeed possesses a piece of third-order Spirit Wood. It is a section of thousand-year-old 'Evergreen Wood'. . ."
Upon hearing this, Fang Xi's heart stirred with joy.
Evergreen Wood is a very peculiar spiritual plant. When it is less than a hundred years old, the spiritual energy it contains is scarce, and it can only be considered a first-order spiritual plant.
However, after a hundred years, this tree will advance, becoming a low-grade second-order Spirit Wood, and as its age increases, it can even progress from low-grade second-order to high-grade second-order!
And once it surpasses a thousand years in age, it will grow into an extremely rare third-order spiritual material!
The limit of this wood is also third-order.
No cultivator has ever seen a fourth-order Evergreen Wood.
"Oh? May I have a look?"
Fang Xi asked.
"This item is precious. . . I don't accept Spirit Stone transactions. If fellow Daoist doesn't have what this old man needs, I won't exchange it."
The green-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator didn't take it out, but instead spoke with an air of composure.
Fang Xi, however, was confident, and sent a Divine Consciousness message.
"What? Is it true?"
The green-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator's voice immediately trembled slightly. He hastily slapped his storage pouch and took out a long, narrow jade-cream box. "Fellow Daoist, please see. . ."
Fang Xi slightly lifted the lid of the box, revealing a section of azure wood within. Its grain was intricate, and it emanated a strong azure spiritual light, truly a thousand-year-old Evergreen Wood.
"Excellent, this item is precisely what I need. . ."
He smiled, and seeing the green-robed cultivator's anxious, expectant gaze, he tossed over a jade bottle.
The green-robed cultivator's hands trembled slightly. He carefully opened the stopper, then immediately put it away. "Indeed, this old man also needs this item."
The item Fang Xi used for the exchange was, of course, that inferior-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
He couldn't use it anyway, and its medicinal efficacy was almost expired.
"This pill is extremely rare, and by rights, I've still taken a loss here."
Fang Xi, however, feigned a hesitant expression.
The green-robed cultivator gritted his teeth. "To be fair, the value of these two items isn't vastly different. However, I am willing to compensate you with a thousand Spirit Stones for the difference."
The value of a Foundation Establishment Pill exceeded that of thousand-year Evergreen Wood, but the one Fang Xi possessed was merely an inferior-grade pill.
Even so, if placed in an auction, the Foundation Establishment Pill would certainly fetch a higher price.
Furthermore, private transactions like this were known to fewer people, making them inherently safer.
Thus, the green-robed cultivator was unwilling to miss out and proactively offered to make up the difference.
"Very well. . . The exchange is complete. I'll take my leave."
After completing this transaction, Fang Xi didn't linger and left the Cultivation City directly.
After exiting the Cultivation City, he rode a black cloud, flying tens of miles without any predatory cultivators appearing. This, surprisingly, made Fang Xi feel a little unaccustomed.
After letting out a self-deprecating laugh, he took a roundabout path before returning to White Peace Immortal City.
...
'This Foundation Establishment Pill is quite useful; it's very convenient for exchanging various rare resources. . . '
'Unfortunately, it's a bit like snatching business from the Black Heaven Sect and White Peace Immortal City. . . One or two pills are fine, but too many might cause a lot of trouble. . . '
Back in Peach Blossom Pavilion, Fang Xi impatiently entered his cultivation chamber and took out his gains for the day.
He had over three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, which he could exchange for mid-grade Spirit Stones at a Spirit Stone shop later.
Although the exchange rate was higher than one hundred, for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, using low-grade Spirit Stones to restore magical power or assist in breakthroughs had too weak an effect. He still needed to stock up on some mid-grade Spirit Stones as a reserve.
Next were the two cultivation arts—the "Hundred Illusions Art" and the "Minor Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art"!
Fang Xi also took them out and placed them aside, intending to study them whenever he had free time in the future.
Finally, he took out the jade-cream box and meticulously examined it.
Before coming here, Fang Xi had confirmed that there were no tracking marks or hidden traps on the item.
Now, after opening the jade-cream box, he saw a section of 'Evergreen Wood' over three feet long, emanating a strong azure spiritual light.
"Not bad, not bad. . . This is my first time acquiring a third-order spiritual material!"
"Taking this to Master Ou Ye, even a casual refinement would yield at least a high-grade Spirit Artifact. . ."
"Of course, that would be a bit extravagant. This item is practically good enough to serve as material for refining a Magic Treasure. . ."
Although Fang Xi was also preparing to refine a Spirit Artifact, he had his own plans.
"Using a third-order material as the main body, even the 'Treasure Glyphs' of the Shard World should be sufficient to bear its power. . ."
"Thus, I can first use Spirit Glyphs to refine a Spirit Artifact, reserving space for future upgrades. . ."
"It's just that I don't know. . . what kind of Spirit Glyphs to choose?"
In reality, Fang Xi also knew that he had no choice for the time being.
After all, the Black Mountain Tribe's inherited Spirit Glyphs were only two types. . .
...
Shard World.
Black Mountain Tribe.
Qing Lang's face was filled with excitement. He had finally discovered the secret on that kid Ba Ji's body!
He stroked the bronze mirror, looking at the Wu script cultivation art that appeared on it. "'Spirit Opening Scripture'? This cultivation method is a hundred times more refined than the Great Wu's method of absorbing primal qi through Spiritual Apertures! No wonder Ba Ji, with his mere half-Spiritual Aperture, could advance by leaps and bounds. . ."
He, Qing Lang, was a genius who had opened three Spiritual Apertures!
At this moment, he had already completed engraving the 'Gathering Wind' Law Glyph and was currently learning the 'Wind Pressure' Law Glyph!
Coupled with the cultivation art of this "Spirit Opening Scripture," he was confident he could complete the engraving of all Law Glyphs in the shortest amount of time!
At that time, he could apply to the Great Wu to observe the 'Xun Wind Spirit Glyph' and learn the technique of combining the three Law Glyphs into the 'Xun Wind Spirit Glyph'.
Once successful, he would be the new generation's Great Wu! !
"Haha. . . I truly am the chosen one. . . Brother Basong won't be able to compete with me."
Qing Lang's face was full of excitement as he stroked the bronze mirror. "This fragment is so mysterious and extraordinary, could it be a secret treasure left by the Wu King?"
After a moment's thought, he felt uneasy leaving this item anywhere. He decided to follow Ba Ji's example and hide the fragment on his person.
Within the fragment, Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness coldly observed this scene.
"I've given you the cultivation method, I hope you can cultivate to the Spirit Glyph realm as quickly as possible. . ."
Now, he was increasingly looking forward to those Spirit Glyphs.
At the same time, he also felt a strange sensation about the power system of this Shard World.
"It's too. . . precise. This Battle Glyph path, from the very first Battle Glyph chosen, dictates a cultivator's entire life. . ."
According to Fang Xi's observations during these days, a Lesser Wu could not change their Battle Glyphs, nor could they engrave additional ones.
For example, after Ba Ji acquired the 'Flame' Law Glyph on his body, he could only seek out Spirit Glyphs containing the 'Flame' Law Glyph and continue to advance along that path.
To speak of abandoning the Flame Law Glyph was an impossibility.
And to engrave a 'Wind Blade' Law Glyph separately and switch to the path of the 'Xun Wind Spirit Glyph' was also unfeasible.
Because he possessed the 'Flame' Law Glyph, it naturally repelled other types of Battle Glyphs, making dual cultivation utterly impossible.
This commonplace rule, in Fang Xi's view, was utterly incredible.
How could cultivation be such a rigid thing?
"The combat power formed in this manner is far too singular. While the advantages are significant, the disadvantages are equally apparent. . ."
"If a Wu King of this Shard World were to face a Core Formation cultivator, I'm afraid their outcome wouldn't be too good. . ."
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