Chapter 623: Divine Transformation Mid-Stage (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote)
A thousand li beyond the Wang Family's valley.
In the void, white light coalesced, forming an ethereal white phoenix. Upon the phoenix's back, a female cultivator, her hair neatly styled in a high bun, her face veiled, stood gracefully, her aura akin to the Goddess of Luo, gazing remotely in the direction of the Wang Family.
"Heimiao is untrustworthy. . . but having him come knocking is still a bother. I'll have to ask my fellow Daoists to share the burden. . ."
With a clear cry, the white phoenix arrived above the Wang Family's valley. The woman made no attempt to conceal herself, immediately alerting the Wang Family. A stream of light shot forth, landing within the formation – it was precisely Wang Lingdao.
"Not bad, the Wang Family lad has also reached Nascent Soul Perfected!"
Luan Bingxianzi exclaimed in admiration.
"So it's Senior Luan Bing!"
Wang Lingdao bowed. "The Ancestor instructed long ago that if Senior were to arrive, you may proceed directly to 'Pi Yun Cave'."
The formation opened, and the iridescent light on both sides automatically receded, revealing a passage wide enough for only one person to pass. Luan Bingxianzi chuckled lightly, transforming into a streak of white light, and entered.
The little Earth Mountain Turtle had reined in its aura, appearing no different from an ordinary demon beast, its extraordinary bloodline now undetectable to anyone. At this moment, it was joyfully frolicking in the pond.
Fang Xi held a jade flask in his hand, watering his potted Demonic Tree. The liquid in the flask was, of course, no ordinary spirit spring water, but 'Nine Revolutions Life-Sustaining Liquid', an exceedingly precious spiritual material that the Wang Family had to expend immense manpower and resources to acquire even a small amount from the Profound Nether Commerce Guild. However, to Fang Xi, as long as the Demonic Tree liked it, nothing else mattered.
After all, he was spending the Wang Family's money!
Suddenly, he stopped watering, as a white-robed fairy glided gracefully towards him, landing upon the surface of the pond, truly treading lightly upon the waves, as if her silk slippers stirred the dust.
The woman's bright eyes examined the little Earth Mountain Turtle in the pond, but she could only discern that it was a fourth-stage demon beast.
Yet, how could an ordinary fourth-stage demon beast prompt a Divine Transformation Old Ancestor to specially dig out several mu of pond in front of his cave abode for its rearing?
It had to possess some extraordinary quality, but no matter how the woman observed it, she only perceived the little Earth Mountain Turtle as an ordinary fourth-stage demon turtle.
"Fellow Daoist Luan Bing. . ."
Fang Xi's call drew Luan Bingxianzi's attention.
The woman looked at Fang Xi, then suddenly, as if in disbelief, glanced at him several more times. In a trembling voice, she uttered, "Fellow Daoist, your cultivation seems to have progressed again. Could it be that you've already reached the peak of the early Divine Transformation stage?"
"Just a lucky break. . . after recovering from my previous injuries, I gained a little something,"
Fang Xi said with a faint smile.
In truth, after cultivating the demon race cultivation technique, the 'Celestial Demon Extermination Manual', to perfection at the early Divine Transformation stage, he had not hesitated much before attempting to break through the bottleneck to the Divine Transformation mid-stage.
Anyway, breakthroughs within the Divine Transformation realm didn't involve heavenly tribulations, and his current physique was astonishing, his recovery ability extremely strong. Even if he failed and suffered backlash, he could quickly recover.
The result was something that astonished Fang Xi.
He actually encountered little resistance and smoothly broke through to the Divine Transformation mid-stage, as if it were as easy as water flowing into a channel!
This might be due to the Earthly Immortal World's environment being naturally suited for high-stage cultivators to break through, or it could be related to his 'Eternal Evergreen Body' progressing past halfway. Although this spiritual body is wood-elemental, it might possess the miraculous effect of weakening Divine Transformation bottlenecks!
It's also possible that having consumed many 'True Blood Pills' had a certain body-tempering effect, making Fang Xi's physique even more formidable, coupled with his already powerful Divine Consciousness. . . As is well known, a formidable physique and powerful Divine Consciousness are greatly beneficial for breaking through bottlenecks.
In short, Fang Xi smoothly broke through to the Divine Transformation mid-stage without even having prepared many breakthrough assistance resources!
And after his demon race cultivation technique broke through, he circulated the 'Three-Phase Annihilation Art' and, as expected, found that both the 'Withered Glory Chant' and the 'Myriad Manifestations True Demon Arts' had also advanced a layer, reaching the Divine Transformation mid-stage realm!
However, within the 'Myriad Manifestations True Demon Arts', there were many secret techniques for the Divine Transformation mid-stage that he could choose and cultivate.
As for the 'Withered Glory Chant', it truly had no secret techniques or divine abilities whatsoever; his magic power had only become slightly more profound.
According to Fang Xi's estimate, this disparity would only grow larger in the end, causing this top-tier cultivation technique to eventually fade into obscurity.
Unless he could acquire the 'Divine Transformation chapter' of the 'Withered Glory Chant' in the future and re-cultivate its techniques and secret arts from scratch, only then could its original profundity be fully unleashed.
However, for now, knowing that his cultivation could continue to break through to higher stages was already quite good.
At the very least, the 'Celestial Demon Extermination Manual' that Fang Xi obtained back then could be cultivated to the 'Return to Void early-stage' realm!
Once he reached the Return to Void stage, his strength would be sufficient to resolve the Earthly Immortal Spiritual Realm issues of the Human World, or to travel the Earthly Immortal World and search for better cultivation techniques!
—Beyond the Dragon Taming Sect's territory, at the borders with other Return to Void sects, there were not merely boundary markers but possibly dangerous zones spanning hundreds of thousands of li, where various natural disasters of the Earthly Immortal World and even Divine Transformation-level desolate beasts that had not been thoroughly eliminated roamed, making it exceedingly perilous.
Just as Core Formation cultivators could only travel among various countries and might not necessarily be able to leave the Setting Sun Plain.
Only Divine Transformation cultivators could smoothly lead people to migrate within the Starry Sky Domain.
As for engaging in cross-domain activities, besides accompanying merchant caravans or relying on the teleportation arrays of super-sects, one would need at least Return to Void cultivation if they wished to travel alone through domains without fearing danger!
In reality, the Starry Sky Domain was already so vast that it far exceeded the sum total of the Human World and other lower realms known to Fang Xi.
Even Nascent Soul cultivators, most of them would never step out of the Setting Sun Plain in their entire lives. . . not due to insufficient strength, but because the vastness and resources of the Setting Sun Plain were already enough for Nascent Soul cultivators to cultivate in peace, so why would they seek out danger for themselves elsewhere?
Breaking through to the Divine Transformation mid-stage in the Earthly Immortal World didn't cause any heaven-and-earth phenomena. Fang Xi immediately cast the 'Turtle Breath Secret Art' to conceal his cultivation, outwardly displaying only the peak of early Divine Transformation cultivation. With his current mastery of the Turtle Breath Secret Art, even Divine Transformation Perfected cultivators would find it difficult to see through, and even for Return to Void cultivators, whether they could see through it was likely a fifty-fifty chance.
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, for reaping benefits from a misfortune,"
Luan Bingxianzi could not hide her envy. "You are now ahead of us; in the future, you will surely break through bottlenecks and advance further on the Grand Dao."
"Sigh. . . after Divine Transformation, every minor stage is incredibly difficult. Without the aid of spiritual pills and wondrous medicines, I fear breaking through will be arduous,"
Fang Xi said, his face filled with distress. "And my Wang Family is now increasingly strapped for resources. . . Once I advance to the mid-stage, this grudge shall surely be avenged!"
Luan Bingxianzi fell silent.
She had, of course, heard about Qing Hezi forcibly seizing the Kungsang Market from the Wang Family back then. It was even rumored that 'Qing Hezi' was a person whose magic power and divine abilities both surpassed ordinary people, no less inferior than Divine Transformation mid-stage cultivators. No wonder this Wang Family Old Ancestor only dared to speak of revenge after breaking through to the Divine Transformation mid-stage. And getting embroiled in the grudges between these two major Divine Transformation powers was by no means a wise thing to do!
Luan Bingxianzi subtly skirted around this topic and mentioned Venerable Heimiao of the Black Water Sect: ". . . That person has been contacting us again. Has he contacted Fellow Daoist?"
Fang Xi replied expressionlessly: "My Wang Family was the mastermind behind the destruction of the Black Water Sect back then. . . how could that person collude with this old man?"
Precisely because of this, he could sit firmly on the fishing platform!
Venerable Heimiao had ill intentions, and Fang Xi had discerned a thing or two.
But Qing Hezi was one thing; the Dragon Taming Sect, no matter whom they investigated, could never suspect the Wang Family!
'If things go awry in the future, I can simply have 'Qing Hezi' withdraw. . . then the Wang Family can continue to occupy Kungsang Market. . . '
Fang Xi thought to himself, without an ounce of shame about playing both sides.
'However, this identity as the Wang Family Old Ancestor is still not entirely safe. . . In the future, I can consider having my External Avatar take over, and I'll be completely hidden behind the scenes. . . '
'If I truly encounter a major event affecting the entire Setting Sun Plain and Xuanming Abyss, at worst, I'll just leave the Dragon Taming Sect and run to the territory under the Starry Sky Sect's jurisdiction. . . Divine Transformation cultivators operating within a single domain are still relatively safe. '
Luan Bingxianzi brushed away the stray hair that had fallen by her ear: "Fellow Daoist Wang doesn't have this trouble, but we, as subordinate sects, still do. . . This humble one has already heard that some fellow Daoists have been reprimanded by the Dragon Taming Sect, and they might even send people down to investigate. . . The Dragon Taming Sect is currently at the height of its power; Jiulong Zunzhe might even pass the great heavenly tribulation and become a Return to Void cultivator soon. . ."
She merely hinted at it, without giving too many overt hints.
But Fang Xi still caught something deeply meaningful: "Sigh. . . the great heavenly tribulation for Return to Void is truly terrifying just to think about. What a pity, this old man doesn't have that 'Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella'. . ."
After a conversation, Fang Xi personally escorted Luan Bingxianzi away. Gazing at the sky, he suddenly felt a sense of 'mountain rain is coming, wind fills the towers'.
...
Several months later.
Fang Xi received a letter from Zuo Xiaoxuan and proceeded to open it.
He glanced at it and, noticing that Zuo Xiaoxuan had already reached late Core Formation, gave a slight nod.
Although this woman's spiritual root was ordinary, her cultivation wasn't slow.
In the Earthly Immortal World, low-stage cultivators breaking through realms was inherently much easier than in the lower realms. Coupled with her being in charge of Kungsang Market, her various incomes were substantial, and it was quite convenient to purchase spiritual pills to enhance magic power.
'As expected, the Earthly Immortal World is indeed suitable for seeking the Dao. . . '
'Many Nascent Soul cultivators in the lower realms, if they could have cultivated in the Earthly Immortal World from the start, would likely have had the hope of reaching Divine Transformation. What a pity. . . '
He sighed inwardly with emotion, commented on a few matters regarding cultivation techniques and training, and then dismissed Zuo Xiaoxuan.
Meanwhile, he began to peruse the letter.
Most cultivators in the Earthly Immortal World still used jade slips to store information; using such a specially made letter at this time signified importance!
"This is. . ."
After reading a few lines, Fang Xi's expression couldn't help but turn a little strange: "What is the Profound Nether Commerce Guild joining in for?"
The letter turned out to be sent by 'Di Yi' of the Profound Nether Commerce Guild, expressing a proposal to establish a 'dark shop' within Kungsang Market.
This Profound Nether Commerce Guild often held various underground auctions; Fang Xi had participated in one last time, and the 'Thousand Absolutes Poison' had come from there.
He had never expected that the other party actually wanted to open a 'dark shop' in his own territory.
The reason it was called a 'dark shop' was that it would be hidden within ordinary shops and would regularly host underground auction events.
"After all, they are also a Return to Void power. . . What a pity the Wang Family has already made contact; let's just sever this connection."
Fang Xi made his decision.
The Profound Nether Commerce Guild had recently been deepening its interactions with various families, and the Wang Family had made contact. In that case, he should best do the opposite and slowly await the outcome. . .
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