Chapter 178: Battle Glyphs (Please Subscribe)
Chapter 178: Battle Glyphs (Please Subscribe)
Two years later.
Inside the seclusion chamber.
Fang Xi continuously formed hand seals, a hint of joy flashing across his face: "The second layer of the Thousand Silks Puppet Control Art. . . it's finally achieved!"
He had been cultivating this puppet control art, and relying on his continuously strengthening Divine Consciousness, he finally managed to master the second layer today!
The second layer of the art allows one to split their mind and thoughts to control four main combat puppets!
He pondered for a moment, then patted his storage bag.
Two low-grade second-order demon beast puppets then appeared.
One of them was a giant, emerald-green praying mantis. Back then, Fang Xi had nearly been ambushed by this very demon insect, and he was quite impressed by its innate demonic art of feigning death and concealing its aura.
"I have eight major puppets at my disposal: the ape specializes in offense, the crow specializes in escape, the mantis can assassinate, and the mountain rock turtle specializes in defense. . ."
"Adding to that the Green Reaping Sword and the Primal Demon Thorn. . . perhaps an ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would be no match for me at all, and might even be directly killed if they're not careful, right?"
Defeating an enemy and killing an enemy are two entirely different levels of difficulty.
Of course, Fang Xi was only thinking to himself.
He had always advocated for realm suppression. Now, with his early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, dealing with Qi Refinement cultivators was simply easy and pleasant. Why would he bother looking for trouble?
After re-refining his puppets once more, Fang Xi left his seclusion chamber in a good mood.
"Young Master. . . Sister Ruan sent a sound transmission talisman, asking you to go to her residence immediately if you have any free time."
Jin Ling, who was feeding the Big Green Fish in the courtyard, saw Fang Xi come out and immediately bowed, reporting.
"Oh?"
Fang Xi's heart stirred. He walked directly out of his cave abode and arrived at Azure Wave Cave.
"Greetings, Uncle Fang!"
The one who opened the formation for him was surprisingly Ruan Dan.
This woman was still as cold as ice, and had even gained a hint of murderous aura. She must have gained something from hunting in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range.
Fang Xi nodded and walked into Azure Wave Cave.
"Brother Fang. . ."
Ruan Xing Ling, clad in a peach-colored palace gown, was brewing tea, waiting.
"What fine tea. . ."
Fang Xi saw a small white dragon seemed to be swimming within the spiritual tea. He couldn't help but smile: "Today, I am truly blessed to taste such a delicacy, to be able to drink this 'Little Dragon Pellet'. . ."
"Please!"
Ruan Xing Ling smilingly prepared tea for Fang Xi, making the small dragon even more lifelike.
Fang Xi took a light sip, and felt a stream of spiritual energy flow into his abdomen, leaving a lingering fragrance on his teeth and cheeks, and even his Divine Consciousness faintly benefited.
The two chatted idly while drinking tea.
Eventually, they began to discuss serious matters.
"Xing Ling, you invited me to your residence, could it be for your beloved disciple?"
Fang Xi thought of Ruan Dan, whom he had just seen. He smiled faintly and asked.
"Precisely. . ."
Ruan Xing Ling handed over a box: "Fellow Daoist, please take a look at this item!"
Fang Xi opened the box and saw within it a walnut-sized blue crystal, emitting a faint glow. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "A water-attribute second-order demon core? Could this be your disciple's harvest?"
He glanced at Ruan Dan, who was standing behind Ruan Xing Ling, feeling a slight sense of emotion.
To obtain a second-order demon core in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range was by no means a simple matter. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators had fallen trying.
For a Qi Refinement cultivator to succeed, luck, strength, and decisiveness were all indispensable!
"Reporting, Uncle Fang, the demon hunting squad I was with luckily encountered a second-order 'Water Serpent' on the outskirts of the Myriad Beast Mountain Range. This serpent had already been severely wounded, which was why we managed to take it down together. However, infighting broke out afterwards, and I also relied on the life-saving item my master gave me to barely survive to the end. . ."
Ruan Dan explained calmly, but the bloodshed and danger involved made even Fang Xi feel a chill in his heart.
"Niece, you have good luck. . ."
He smiled, closing the demon core box: "Xing Ling, could it be you want me to refine pills? Although I've collected the Foundation Establishment Pill formula, I haven't actually tried my hand at it yet. . ."
Beside him, Ruan Dan nervously clutched the corner of her robe.
Of course, she trusted Uncle Fang, but she knew even better that Fang Xi had only refined low-grade second-order pills in recent years.
For something as important as the Foundation Establishment Pill, she naturally still wanted to find those renowned high-grade second-order alchemy masters.
After all, with the crucial second-order demon core in hand, as long as word got out, there would always be perfected Qi Refinement cultivators who had gathered all the auxiliary materials like Dragon Transformation Ginseng coming to seek cooperation, and if the pill was successfully refined, she would certainly have priority in choosing.
With two Foundation Establishment cultivators as backing, she wasn't afraid of being scammed in this regard.
If it were used for Fang Xi to practice with, then it would truly be a case of 'chickens flying and eggs scattered'. . .
Even for an alchemy grandmaster, their first newly refined batch of Foundation Establishment Pills would likely fail seven or eight times out of ten.
"If Brother Fang has confidence, Xing Ling would naturally be willing to fulfill Brother Fang's wish!"
Ruan Xing Ling declared with magnanimity.
"Never mind, never mind. . . My alchemy skills are far inferior to those grandmasters. Let's not ruin the demon core that my virtuous niece obtained with such difficulty. . ."
Fang Xi refused with a bitter smile.
Although, he felt that the number of times he had refined Foundation Establishment Pills might actually be even more than those grandmasters.
But this matter couldn't be revealed to outsiders.
Hearing Fang Xi say this, Ruan Dan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As for Ruan Xing Ling, she seemed a bit regretful: "The reason Xing Ling invited Brother Fang today is because Dan'er discovered that something was a little abnormal. . ."
"Oh?"
Fang Xi raised an eyebrow and looked at Ruan Dan.
Ruan Dan then said: "Recently, various rogue cultivator demon hunting teams have had great harvests. Many demon beasts have left their original territories, migrating from the depths of the Myriad Beast Mountain Range towards the outside world. . ."
She recounted her observations, and then looked at the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Demon beasts from deep within the Myriad Beast Mountain Range migrating outwards?"
Fang Xi's expression became somewhat solemn: "Such a situation. . . has indeed been recorded in the history of immortal cities. There are generally only two possibilities: one is that demon beasts have reproduced excessively, fighting over territories, leading to the losers retreating and seeking new territories. The second is that a third-order demon king has emerged deep within the mountain range, driving other demon beasts outwards to expand. . ."
"Neither of these is good news. It means. . . a beast tide is approaching! " Ruan Xing Ling interjected: "Brother Fang. . . I'm afraid we need to prepare early."
In the history of the Three Kingdoms' cultivation world, there have actually been instances of beast tides from the Myriad Beast Mountain Range impacting and ravaging regions.
Even the establishment of various cultivation cities and passes throughout the mountain range was originally to serve as strongholds to repel beast tides.
Among them, 'White Peace Immortal City' was the most crucial of all!
Whenever a beast tide occurred, this place would inevitably bear the brunt!
However, danger also presented opportunity. Whenever a beast tide occurred, many cultivators would even specially rush here to hunt demon beasts rarely seen on ordinary days, and even obtain second-order demon cores, successfully advancing to Foundation Establishment!
"Since the establishment of White Peace Immortal City, there has yet to be a single instance of it being breached by a beast tide. . ."
Fang Xi was only slightly nervous, and then immediately relaxed considerably: "Furthermore, neither you nor I are guest elders of the immortal city and have no employment ties. If things become unmanageable, we can just leave. . . Xing Ling, do you wish to return to Myriad Islands Lake?"
Back then, the Song Clan flattened Myriad Islands Lake, and later reportedly supported a rogue cultivator surnamed 'Yan' to establish a Foundation Establishment family—the Myriad Islands Yan Family!
"Xing Ling still wishes to cultivate within the immortal city. . ."
Ruan Xing Ling shook her head, rejecting Fang Xi's suggestion: "Today, I merely wished to give a reminder, hoping Brother Fang will prepare early. . ."
"Hmm, our Pill and Artifact Pavilion can also seize this opportunity to raise prices. . ."
Fang Xi stroked his chin, pondering.
When war breaks out, all kinds of pills, talismans, and artifacts will definitely skyrocket in price.
...
"Beast tide!"
After returning to Peach Blossom Pavilion, Fang Xi was still contemplating the matter of the beast tide.
In reality, once a beast disaster erupted, no place in the cultivation world would be safe.
While the demon beasts would primarily attack White Peace Immortal City, many demon beast tribes would also scatter throughout the State of Yue, creating various bloody tragedies and causing widespread chaos and turmoil.
"White Peace Immortal City had a third-order grand formation and Core Formation cultivators. Even if besieged by several demon kings, it would be difficult to breach, making it the safest place."
"Even if the city were to fall, I could fully escape to Da Liang when the third-order formation disappeared. . ."
Having thought this through, Fang Xi realized that he could still simply remain secluded, and instantly lost much of his interest in the matter.
Aside from instructing Jin Ling to raise the prices at the Pill and Artifact Pavilion, he once again burrowed into his cultivation chamber.
...
Shard World.
"This item. . ."
Black Nirvana City.
The Witch King was not present.
The bronze mirror fragment where Fang Xi resided was placed on a table. Beside it was a golden crystal.
Inside the crystal, there were countless runes moving about erratically, collectively forming an incredibly complex Battle Glyph.
"Oh?"
"This is. . . an agreement to trade?"
Fang Xi felt a surge of joy upon seeing this. Indeed, women's demand for pills like the Appearance-Preserving Pill would never go out of style.
His Divine Consciousness emerged and entered the golden crystal, diligently memorizing this Battle Glyph!
"'Earth-Shaking Battle Glyph' is constructed primarily from the Earth Escape Spirit Glyph, Mountain Shaking Spirit Glyph, and Void-Breaking Spirit Glyph, capable of causing the earth to quake and mountains to sway, possessing immense power. . ."
"Among these, the 'Earth Escape Spirit Glyph' can be further broken down into two Law Glyphs: 'Earth Movement' and 'Stone-to-Mud Transformation'. . ."
"Within the 'Mountain Shaking Spirit Glyph', there are three Law Glyphs: 'Immense Strength', 'Earth Breaking', and 'Earthquake'. . ."
When Fang Xi obtained the 'Earth-Shaking Battle Glyph', his first impression was its exquisite nature!
Various Law Glyphs combined to form Spirit Glyphs, and after rigorous arrangement and recombination. . . they formed a 'Battle Glyph'!
The power of a Battle Glyph could almost compare to the divine abilities and magic power of a Core Formation cultivator. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a 'Battle Art'.
'However, the Witch King wouldn't have traded her most precious 'Life-Bound Battle Glyph' from the start. It was probably some spoils of war, right? '
Just as Fang Xi was pondering, a figure moved. The Witch King was already standing at the edge of the table: "Artifact Spirit, you've finally appeared!"
Fang Xi felt no fear, because at most, he would only lose a little Divine Consciousness.
Once he had fully memorized the 'Earth-Shaking Battle Glyph', he returned to the mirror's surface. A light flashed on it, and the remainder of the 'Appearance-Preserving Pill' formula appeared.
Not only that, adhering to the principle of mutual benefit, Fang Xi also provided a complete set of second-order alchemy techniques.
Furthermore, after the second-order alchemy techniques, there was also Chen Ping's talisman-making inheritance!
In Fang Xi's view, Law Glyphs and Spirit Glyphs were relatively simple, and could not only be etched onto artifacts and formation flags, but even talismans could bear them.
However, once it reached the third-order Battle Glyph stage, the runes became too numerous, and talisman paper could no longer bear them, requiring the use of formations instead.
Of course, as for Chen Ping's talisman-making inheritance, Fang Xi only displayed half of it, before it condensed into a line of Wu script—[Sacrifice Battle Glyph, Obtain Inheritance]!
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