Chapter 63: Aftermath at Green Bamboo (Celebrating Feathered Life, Descending Phoenix Alliance Leader! )
Chapter 63: Aftermath at Green Bamboo (Celebrating Feathered Life, Descending Phoenix Alliance Leader! )
The South Barrens Cultivation World.
Streams babbled, forests flourished.
Boom!
A green stone slab suddenly shifted, revealing a cellar beneath.
Fang Xi, holding his Golden Flood Dragon Shears in one hand and a talisman clutched in the other, cautiously poked his head out.
Seeing that everything outside was as it should be, with little change from before he left, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Finally, I'm back," he murmured, taking a deep breath and relishing the spiritual energy of the South Barrens Cultivation World.
"It could only be me. . . any other fourth-step Martial Master, even if they managed to break through amidst the encirclement by all the experts and armies of Three Yuan City, would still likely be cornered and besieged to death."
"Breaking through to the True Vigor Martial Saint realm, translated into the immortal path, means a third-tier Body Cultivation cultivator, comparable to a great expert in late-stage Qi Refinement!"
"Even if the chaos near Green Bamboo Mountain market town hasn't ended, I'm strong enough to protect myself."
The reason Fang Xi had fled Green Bamboo Mountain market town back then was precisely because he feared the chaos.
Now, however, he felt a bit eager to try. After all, chaos was the best stepping stone.
"No, I still need to be careful."
"Right now, the most important thing is to find someone and understand the current situation!"
Fang Xi glanced at the sky, ascertained a direction, and swiftly departed using his movement technique.
...
State of Yue.
Jiahe City.
This was the closest mortal city to Green Bamboo Mountain.
Inside the city's finest restaurant—the Celestial Immortal Pavilion.
The Celestial Immortal Pavilion was located in the very center of the city, a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, and it was constructed with exquisite elegance.
The topmost floor, in particular, was traditionally reserved only for esteemed guests.
As for who these esteemed guests were, even the staff within the pavilion might not know.
"Grandpa, they say the master behind the Celestial Immortal Pavilion is treated with reverence even by the City Lord himself. I wonder what kind of divine being they are?"
On the second-highest floor of the Celestial Immortal Pavilion, in a private room with an open door, a gentle girl dressed in luxurious attire was curiously questioning her grandfather beside her.
"Heh heh, you've asked the right person for this. . . " The old man chuckled, stroking his beard. After several pleas from the girl, he finally lowered his voice: "Those who can make even the City Lord bow in humility are naturally those Immortal Masters. . ."
"Immortal Masters, you say? " The girl's eyes immediately lit up. Her gaze darted around, searching left and right, as if trying to find the entrance to the upper floor.
Alas, the entrance to the topmost floor did not seem to be located there.
Just then, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, a youth in green robes arrived on this floor and looked left and right.
Then, as if having pinpointed his destination, he walked up to a wooden wall.
On the wooden wall hung a painting of an ancient-style lady.
"This is it. . ."
Fang Xi murmured, and walked in.
Woosh!
A burst of light appeared, and he completely vanished into it.
Having studied the "Elementary Array Dao," Fang Xi naturally recognized that this was merely a small restriction, designed to block mortals but completely ineffective against cultivators.
"Grandpa. . ."
Gazing at his disappearing back, the girl tugged at her grandfather's sleeve.
The old man's eyes were also somewhat glazed over; he didn't even notice the wine spilling on his clothes. After a long moment, he finally turned to his granddaughter and said, "Yunyun, you're very lucky. That youth in green robes was probably an Immortal Master. . ."
"An Immortal Master, huh. . ."
The young girl's eyes were filled with unconcealed envy.
...
Beyond the restriction lay a wooden staircase.
Step by step, Fang Xi ascended the stairs, arriving at the Celestial Immortal Pavilion's topmost floor.
The decor here was elegant and refined; every item was perhaps something rarely found in the mortal world. The view was also incredibly expansive, allowing one to overlook the entire scenery of Jiahe City.
Only a few seats were available, and at this moment, only a handful of people were sitting.
"Heh heh. . . Fellow Daoist, I am Ge Hong Dan, humbly serving as the proprietor of the Celestial Immortal Pavilion!"
A corpulent man dressed like a mortal official smiled cheerfully as he cupped his hands: "This pavilion is open to all cultivators. Fellow Daoist may reside and partake as you wish; all mortal amenities are free of charge."
"Fellow Daoist is generous!"
Fang Xi cupped his hands in return.
Ge Hong Dan laughed heartily: "I simply enjoy making friends. . . To be frank, the Eighth Prince of the State of Yue is also supporting me. Might I ask, Fellow Daoist, where is your immortal homeland? Are you willing to serve as a guest elder in the secular world? As long as Fellow Daoist is willing to come to the princely manor, I cannot guarantee Spirit Stones, but all secular enjoyments—be it gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful women, luxurious mansions, fine horses, or antiques. . . everything will be at your disposal!"
"Many thanks for Fellow Daoist Ge's kind intentions, but alas, I am still rather young and wish to continue striving on the Dao path."
Fang Xi politely declined, then promised: "Once I grow old or become disheartened, I will certainly come here to see, and at that time, I hope Fellow Daoist will take me in."
"Haha, certainly, certainly. " Ge Hong Dan didn't insist. He had seen many such young cultivators; each one was indeed arrogant and ambitious. His true targets were the elderly cultivators past their sixty-year limit.
Elderly cultivators with no hope of Foundation Establishment, if they wished to establish a family in the mortal world or continue their bloodline, found that the best method was to seek refuge with the powerful and influential. In doing so, they would enjoy boundless glory and wealth.
'Excellent. Just as the rumors said, they're all weaklings. '
Fang Xi swept his gaze around, discovering that apart from Ge Hong Dan, who possessed mid-stage Qi Refinement strength, most of the other guests were around early-stage Qi Refinement.
In other words, he alone could slaughter everyone here. It was quite safe, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.
After thinking for a moment, he found a seat by the window and began to enjoy the view outside.
Meanwhile, some cultivators on this floor were holding gourds of spiritual wine, pouring and drinking by themselves; others were savoring delicacies, and some were chatting about everything under the sun.
Fang Xi waited for a little over an hour before he heard the newcomers next door discussing the very information he sought:
"Sigh. . . another refined corpse has appeared near Jiahe City. Old Song and I teamed up to slay it, but Old Song inadvertently got hit by the corpse poison. . . now we have to buy spirit pills to detoxify him. All told, we'll still be down half a Spirit Stone. Damn these refined corpses!"
A young man at Qi Refinement Layer Three took a sip of wine, his chest full of grievances: "Even if the Situ Clan was annihilated, they still caused immense harm!"
"Fellow Daoist, if you please."
Fang Xi's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he walked over.
"Fellow Daoist, you're too polite. I am Chen Mo. May I ask what advice you have for me? " The young man immediately grew somewhat nervous upon seeing Fang Xi approach.
After all, he was only at Qi Refinement Layer Three, and his friend beside him was even weaker, merely at Qi Refinement Layer Two. Their bodies couldn't help but tense up.
Cultivators mingling in the mortal world were generally like this: low in cultivation, cautious to a fault.
"I have been diligently cultivating in seclusion for the past two years. I just happened to hear you mention the annihilation of the Situ Clan. Might I ask what the situation was?"
Fang Xi casually sat down and began to ask.
"Oh, that. " Chen Mo's expression relaxed: "The Situ Clan and Red Leaf Valley committed many unrighteous deeds and were ordered to be exterminated by the superior sect, the Black Heaven Sect. . . that was about two years ago."
"Oh? I wonder about the specifics? Which forces participated? " Fang Xi continued to inquire.
Chen Mo was a bit surprised, but this was all public information, and no one really cared: "The ones who took action were the Qi Family of Hundred Arts, the Xu Family of Green Leaf, the Shen Family of Heavenly Talismans, the Long Family of Yellow Wind, and also the Song Clan. . . When exterminating Red Leaf Valley and Green Bamboo Mountain market town, everything went smoothly, until they reached the Situ Clan's main base, their ancestral land at Black Water Pool, where they suffered heavy losses!"
"What kind of heavy losses? " Fang Xi showed an interested expression.
"Sigh. . . Originally, the Situ Clan was renowned for its tyrannical and domineering ways. Later, we learned that it was a Demonic Cultivator force, and their ancestor was the Demonic Cultivator 'Situ Jiu' who once ran rampant in a neighboring country. He was highly proficient in the art of Corpse Refinement. . . As for Black Water Pool, its spiritual vein wasn't abundant, and it had poisonous miasma. The only thing worth mentioning was an Yin vein, suitable as a corpse-nurturing ground. . . The Situ Clan truly plotted with great deliberation when they chose this place as their ancestral land!"
"On that day, when the cultivators' grand army reached the Situ Clan, the Situ Clan fought by raising coffins. Thousands of coffins emerged from their gates, and countless buried ancestral corpses rose from their caskets, slaughtering the cultivators' army until blood flowed like rivers. . . Tsk tsk, it's said that the Situ Clan had an ancestral teaching: all cultivator clansmen, upon death, must be buried in the corpse-nurturing ground to become the family's foundation. The way they sprang out this time truly startled the attacking cultivators. It's rumored that there were five or six flying zombies at the Foundation Establishment stage alone, with the leader even reaching the late-stage Foundation Establishment level!"
"However, the Black Heaven Sect dispatched cultivators to supervise the battle. In the end, the clan cultivators set up the 'Heavenly Fire Divine Flame Array,' attacking for several months before barely managing to breach the Situ Clan's defenses. But the most elite portion of the Situ Clan's members had already escaped, transforming into Demonic Cultivators and poisoning the region. . . The attacking Foundation Establishment cultivation families also suffered heavy losses. The Qi Family of Hundred Arts lost a Foundation Establishment Ancestor, the Shen Family of Heavenly Talismans had all its Foundation Establishment cultivators perish, degrading them to a Qi Refinement family. Later, they were even exterminated by the Situ Clan's remnants. The losses were truly severe. . ."
"Conversely, Black Water Pool, where the Situ Clan was located, even though there are still scattered Qi Refinement-level refined corpses lingering, and it has been plundered once already, it has also become the most favored exploration ground for rogue cultivators in the State of Yue recently. . ."
Chen Mo finished speaking in one breath, feeling somewhat parched, and couldn't help but take a sip of tea.
"So convoluted!"
Fang Xi felt a hint of shock upon hearing this.
He hadn't expected the Situ Clan's death throes and counterattack to be so resolute and tragic!
'But the Situ Clan wasn't completely wiped out? Some clan members escaped? I wonder if Situ Qing Qing is among them? Even if she is, she's probably been forced into becoming a Demonic Cultivator. . . '
Fang Xi always felt that the final battle had many issues. It was highly probable that it was a tactic by the Black Heaven Sect to make both sides suffer heavy losses, ultimately benefiting themselves like a fisherman reaping the rewards.
However, there were many clever people in the cultivation world. Everyone could see it, but no one could say it.
Who told the Black Heaven Sect to have a Core Formation Ancestor, after all!
"I wonder what happened to Green Bamboo Mountain market town afterward? " Fang Xi pondered, then asked the question he cared about most.
"I happen to know about that," Ge Hong Dan said, walking over with a smile. "Green Bamboo Mountain market town was originally controlled by the Situ Clan, but it was later breached by the Long Family's Ancestor. . . However, the Long Family suffered heavy losses during the subsequent attack on Black Water Pool and had to relinquish most of their gains. Green Bamboo Mountain itself changed hands several times, truly experiencing a period of chaos. There were rogue cultivators everywhere killing and plundering treasures, and most of the goods sold were adulterated. . . causing most of the nearby cultivators to flee."
"Later, several perfected Qi Refinement rogue cultivators couldn't stand it anymore and formed an alliance called the 'Green Bamboo Association,' taking over the market town's management. After several rounds of rectification and strikes against rogue cultivators, they barely managed to stabilize the market town. Still, its improvement was limited; they could only guarantee no fighting *within* the market town, but outside, they took no responsibility for anything. . . Nevertheless, this made it a rare place for fencing stolen goods in the State of Yue's cultivation world, and its reputation spread."
"A black market within the cultivation world? " Fang Xi murmured to himself, already understanding.
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