Chapter 23: Ming Qing Pavilion (Seeking collection)
Chapter 23: Ming Qing Pavilion (Seeking collection)
Green Bamboo Mountain.
Fang Xi's figure emerged in the cellar, cautiously looking around.
He noticed that the protective talisman on the wall was still intact, though its spiritual light had become incredibly faint. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can return, which means I can easily leave that dangerous place."
As for attempting to bring others across?
At this moment, such a thought didn't even cross Fang Xi's mind!
His golden finger was of utmost importance; even if everyone in Black Stone City perished, he would never compromise on this point.
This time, he had used the excuse of searching for supplies to cross over in an uninhabited corner.
Inside the bottle was the blood of the demon-afflicted!
"The demons of the Da Liang world. . . are not the same as demonic cultivators in the cultivation world. At least, I didn't sense the slightest demonic qi, but their manifestations are quite strange. . ."
Fang Xi pondered for a moment, then took out a jade plate. He tilted the bottle, letting a drop of dark black blood roll onto it.
Clink!
The blood bead landed on the jade plate, emitting a sound like a rolling pearl, as if it had already solidified.
Fang Xi's face was devoid of expression as he infused threads of blood-qi power into the jade plate.
The surface of the jade plate instantly bloomed with numerous vein-like patterns, coiling around the blood bead in rings.
Hiss! Hiss!
Tiny white smoke emerged, and the moment those blood threads touched the bead, they vanished into nothingness, evaporated completely!
Witnessing this, Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged, but he switched the infused power to True Force.
Buzz! Buzz!
Inside the jade plate, the light of the blood threads instantly flared!
Threads of light intertwined, coiling around the blood bead.
The blood bead was partially enveloped and began to melt. However, in the next moment, an astonishing scene occurred—from within the blood bead, fragmented black tadpole-like symbols began to seep out.
The blood threads formed by True Force, upon encountering these symbols, immediately emitted a sound of unbearable strain, slowly corroding into nothingness.
Observing this, Fang Xi's expression became solemn.
"Putting aside blood-qi power for now, even a martial artist's True Force, when encountering highly diluted inferior curse power, still gets corroded?"
After testing with a cultivator's methods, Fang Xi immediately understood Mu Cang Long's condition.
That martial arts hall master had previously claimed he could resist with ample True Force, but now it seemed his death was probably not far off!
"Curse power. . . the power of demons. . . a power that transcends blood-qi martial arts?"
Fang Xi thought for a moment, then once again circulated his cultivation technique.
But this time, he circulated the 'Evergreen Chant'!
Threads of cool spiritual power seeped into the jade plate, transforming into azure threads, continuously piercing towards the blood bead.
This time!
Even when the dark, fragmented tadpole script reappeared, it was easily pierced through by the azure threads.
Subsequently, the blood bead slowly melted, abruptly transforming into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating. . .
"A cultivator's spiritual power can suppress curse power?"
Fang Xi's eyes brightened.
This was good news.
At the very least, for cultivators, demons were not necessarily immortal.
"Mu Cang Long is about to die. I wonder if the Spirit Cleansing Pill I have will be effective?"
While thinking, Fang Xi stepped out of the wooden house.
On the door, a note was conspicuously pasted.
He picked it up and immediately felt a touch of excitement: "It's Chen Ping. . ."
Previously, he had asked the other party to introduce him to some circles. Now it seemed, he had finally received a yield!
...
Half a day later.
Green Bamboo Mountain Market.
Chen Ping and Fang Xi arrived one after another before a tall tea house.
Chen Ping's face carried a hint of pride: "Fellow Daoist Fang, rest assured, Fellow Daoist Shen and Fairy Yun Meng are kind people, never putting on airs."
Fang Xi offered a wry smile: "I'm not worried about that, but rather. . ."
He looked up at the signboard.
The tea house was named 'Ming Qing Pavilion', famous for selling spirit tea.
Such a high-end establishment was a place Fang Xi, in his former life, wouldn't even have thought of visiting.
However, he had still brazenly come, as making acquaintances with fellow cultivators had no downside.
Of course, this was also because the gathering location Chen Ping mentioned was within the market. If he had dared to say the location was outside Green Bamboo Mountain, Fang Xi would have immediately turned around and left without a word, then severed ties with him.
"Oh, don't worry, Fairy Yun Meng has already paid for the private room this time."
Chen Ping saw what Fang Xi was worried about and offered reassurance.
"So that's how it is, what are we waiting for then?"
Fang Xi immediately pulled Chen Ping, and they entered the Ming Qing Pavilion.
The interior of the pavilion was elegantly decorated, featuring an open-air terrace where a zither master, with slender hands, played the strings.
Around them, calming incense wafted from censers.
Even with some guests present, their conversations were extremely hushed, making it a remarkably refined place.
Chen Ping seemed a bit nervous as well. He found his way and entered a private room.
Inside the room, a man and a woman were already seated on meditation cushions, both at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement cultivation.
The male cultivator had a dignified and handsome appearance, dressed in a blue fox fur coat and wearing a jade crown, exuding an extraordinary aura.
The female cultivator, around fifteen or sixteen years old, wore a pink dress. Her skin was impeccably smooth, her eyes as gentle as water, and her aura like a dream or mist.
"Allow me to introduce you all. This is Fellow Daoist Shen Hao Ran, and this is Fairy Yun Meng. . ."
Chen Ping introduced the three: "And this is Fellow Daoist Fang Xi, my good brother who lives next door."
"Greetings to both of you. " Fang Xi was slightly surprised. He had originally thought Chen Ping's connections were only with fellow early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, never expecting such resources.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Fang."
Shen Hao Ran continued to sip his spirit tea, casually offering a greeting, appearing quite nonchalant.
Fairy Yun Meng, however, rose and gave a graceful bow, demonstrating excellent manners and upbringing.
But Fang Xi could tell that the more elaborate the courtesy, the more distant it felt.
"Today, we are truly fortunate. Not only can we savor this 'Cloud Mist Spirit Tea', but we can also enjoy Zither Master Feng's performance."
Chen Ping and Fang Xi sat down, then smiled: "We still have Fairy Yun Meng to thank."
"For Zither Master Feng to be willing to come here also exceeded this humble one's expectations. . ."
Fairy Yun Meng smiled faintly.
Fang Xi did not join the conversation of the three, focusing instead on drinking tea and eating pastries.
He was well aware of his position: merely a foil, a background figure.
This Fairy Yun Meng and Shen Hao Ran were clearly not low-level rogue cultivators. The reason they valued Chen Ping was probably due to his talisman-making talent.
Compared to them, he, who possessed no special skills, was better off remaining an inconspicuous figure.
For instance, this spirit tea was excellent; a sip brought pure delight to body and mind.
And the spirit pastries too; a bite left a lingering fragrance and even enhanced cultivation.
Fang Xi even felt that if he could enjoy such spiritual items daily, he might reach the peak of the third level of Qi Refinement within a month.
"Zither Master Feng is coming! And another distinguished guest."
Just then, a sound transmission talisman flew in from outside.
Shen Hao Ran took it, his face lighting up with joy, and at the same time, he looked at Fang Xi.
Fang Xi glanced around and noticed that while the private room felt spacious with four people, it would be slightly cramped with five.
As the cultivator with the lowest cultivation and weakest background, he had to be perceptive. He immediately rose: "Everyone, I just remembered I have urgent matters at home. I'll take my leave now."
"But Zither Master Feng is about to perform; her zither music is rare. . . " Fairy Yun Meng said with a hint of regret, though she made no move to keep him.
Fang Xi bowed and walked out of the private room.
Faintly, he could hear Shen Hao Ran's voice speaking to Chen Ping: "Fellow Daoist Chen, you will also be a Talisman Master in the future, you must maintain your status. . . Let me tell you, the distinguished guest arriving is a powerful expert at the late stage of Qi Refinement. . ."
"Oh? Then I must ask Brother Shen to introduce me. " Chen Ping's surprised voice rang out simultaneously.
...
As Fang Xi exited the 'Ming Qing Pavilion', he could vaguely hear a wisp of zither music emanating from within the building.
On that high platform, a graceful figure seemed to have appeared.
Alas, such elegant and refined affairs had nothing to do with him.
'If your strength isn't enough, don't enter circles that are too high-level. . . '
He quickly adjusted his mindset and returned to his shed.
Bang!
A gust of palm wind flew out, fiercely striking the door and window.
White Cloud Palm!
Although he hadn't heard Fairy Feng play the zither this time, he had at least managed to enjoy the spirit tea and pastries.
It was a good time for cultivation!
Fang Xi had only broken through the martial hall master realm with his Red Snake Leg; his White Cloud Palm was still a little short.
Crackling!
He struck with both palms, delivering successive blows, then condensed nine large hand seals.
In an instant, Fang Xi's hands turned a grayish-black.
Strangely, the gray color was continuously fading, while the black was wildly expanding.
"Hoo!"
Fang Xi exhaled a long breath, and the white mist actually shot out several feet.
He looked at his hands, confirming that both palms had completely entered the Black Cloud realm, which was the stage of a True Force martial artist!
The True Force of White Cloud Palm primarily strengthened the hands; the improvement to other parts of the body was far less significant than last time.
"Breaking through so easily. . ."
"Sigh. . . If only my talent in the immortal path were the same as in blood-qi martial arts."
The low-grade spiritual root aptitude of this body had always been a sore point for Fang Xi.
The next moment, feeling the changes in the True Force of White Cloud Palm, his expression gradually became solemn.
Using his Divine Consciousness to observe his body, he could see that as his blood-qi circulated, several vortices had appeared, primarily located in his legs and palms.
Even more startling was that these blood-qi vortices exerted a pulling sensation on each other, causing the circulation of blood-qi to become somewhat chaotic.
"Is this. . . what Lu She meant by a hindrance?"
"Alas. . . I had already broken through with Red Snake Leg, and my blood-qi was already mixed. Practicing another art on top of that was inevitable."
Fang Xi looked at his palms.
White Cloud Palm could be deployed and retracted. After withdrawing the True Force, his palms were now as fair as jade, as delicate as a young lady's hands from a prominent family.
No one could imagine the power contained within these hands, already comparable to some demon beasts.
"The True Force of White Cloud Palm and Red Snake Leg indeed conflict. This must be resolved. . ."
"And the realms that follow. . ."
A mere body cultivator equivalent to the early stage of Qi Refinement was nothing. What Fang Xi valued was the future progress and hope!
"Thankfully. . . I heard the Yuan He Mountain group didn't escape either. . ."
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