Chapter 635: Trade (To Congratulate Alliance Leader Jie Jiezi of the Humble Daoist)
“They really. . . none of them make things easy. ”
On Sangqing Peak.
Fang Xi held the ‘Taiyi Scripture’, watching a live broadcast.
He saw the Eight Gates Azure Wave Formation shimmer with crackling lightning, then suddenly disperse with a roar, transforming into a sky full of flowing water.
When he saw Zuo Xiaoxuan raise her right hand, holding a pitch-black cone with countless tiny chains wrapped around it, binding Meng Zhuzi’s Nascent Soul, he covered his forehead.
He had placed miniature puppets on this woman for positioning and reconnaissance, so he naturally knew that she had secretly formed a small organization, recruiting many cultivators, all for the sake of revenge.
Therefore, after receiving the news today, he did not stop her.
In any case, with the Wang Family, he could always mediate. . . he presumed his main body would show some deference.
At best, it was just a dog. . .
He certainly couldn’t monitor the entire Xuanming Abyss, but based on the Kyushu World Meteorological Station’s technology, monitoring ‘spiritual energy tides’ was barely achievable.
Earlier, ‘Taiyi’ had already sounded an alarm, detecting primordial qi tides at the Soul Transformation, and even Return to Void levels!
‘A Return to Void cultivator actually made a move. . . was it that old dragon? ’
Fang Xi muttered, not intending to investigate immediately.
At this moment, the other party might not have left, and going to investigate immediately would be akin to directly crashing into them, no different from seeking death.
It was best to pretend nothing was seen and go later.
He sat in silence for a moment, then saw a streak of light depart and return, coming to the outside of his cave abode and kneeling on the ground.
“Peak Master. . . Xiaoxuan presumptuously attacked and killed Meng Zhuzi. This disciple requests punishment from the Peak Master. ”
Zuo Xiaoxuan heavily kowtowed.
“Sigh. . . ”
After a long while, the cave abode’s main door opened. Fang Xi looked at the female cultivator behind the mask, feeling quite helpless: “You harmed the interests of my market for personal vendetta, thus you must be punished. . . I hereby relieve you of all your duties, and furthermore. . . go to the Punishment Hall to receive ninety-nine strikes of the Thunder Devouring Punishment. ”
“Understood. . . ”
Zuo Xiaoxuan’s delicate body trembled. She knew that although the Thunder Devouring Punishment simulated lightning with a formation, a single lightning bolt was enough to severely injure a Core Formation cultivator. For her, a Nascent Soul cultivator who had never undergone body cultivation, ninety-nine strikes would strip away most of her life.
But at this moment, she had no other choice and could only accept it.
Otherwise, only death awaited her!
Fang Xi watched the retreating figure of the woman, nodding slightly. She was still a responsible sort.
If this woman had killed Meng Zhuzi and then fled, he would have had no choice but to ensure her body and soul were utterly extinguished. . .
...
A Nascent Soul-level wood puppet flew low over the sea, creating ripples on the surface.
It first paused briefly at the spot where Zuo Xiaoxuan had ambushed Meng Zhuzi, then flew towards the land.
Near a stretch of coastline, the puppet stopped its escape light and suddenly spread its hands.
Countless scarab-like beetles emerged from its body, densely fluttering down and burrowing into the earth, rocks, jungles, and even the Profound Nether Heavy Water. . .
Several hours later, individual scarabs gathered in mid-air, forming a strange pattern.
The wood puppet arrived at the ground marked by the scarabs, pressed its right hand’s five fingers together, and smashed down with a punch.
Boom!
A large pit appeared, followed by a palm-sized, blood-red scale, enveloped in a golden light, slowly floating out.
“A fifth-stage dragon scale? ! ”
The wood puppet’s mouth let out a slightly surprised sound as it carefully put away the dragon scale. It then moved to another location indicated by the scarabs.
This area even had many remnants of monster beasts, seemingly having fought to the death over some brownish mud, with some even showing mutations, growing scales and black horns.
“Land tainted by dragon blood. . . ”
The wood puppet no longer hesitated. Its hands spun like windmills, and it quickly formed a series of hand seals.
Numerous hand seals converged, forming a secret art.
From the surrounding earth, streaks of blood-red threads emerged, converging into one, vaguely forming the shape of a small dragon, letting out a roar.
Then. . . it completely disintegrated with a boom.
The wood puppet stood up without a word, rushing into the Xuanming Abyss.
Hundreds of miles away.
Fang Xi pursed his lips, saying nothing, and similarly returned to Sangqing Peak.
‘A fifth-stage Flood Dragon perished there. . . and it was a Crimson Blood Flood Dragon! ’
‘I remember, within the Dragon Taming Sect, Qin Longzi’s life-bound spirit beast was a fifth-stage Crimson Blood Flood Dragon, wasn’t it? ’
‘It seems it wasn’t the Return to Void old dragon who acted, but a mysterious Return to Void cultivator who dealt with Qin Longzi? ’
Fang Xi had a pained expression: “Of all places to act, why in the Xuanming Abyss? Isn’t this just asking for trouble for me? ”
Both sides possessed Return to Void combat power. He felt weak, pathetic, and helpless, caught in the middle. . .
“Fortunately, the Kyushu Mechanized City is complete and currently undergoing final adjustments, which is a small comfort. . . No, I need to talk to Ghost Axe Venerable and install a few more Star Annihilation Cannons. . . ”
For the next period, Fang Xi kept a low profile, constantly waiting for the Dragon Taming Sect to fly into a rage, dispatching experts to investigate, and perhaps requiring his assistance.
In truth, he was preparing to flee if the situation looked even slightly unfavorable.
To his surprise, the Dragon Taming Sect actually endured it. On the surface, there was no movement whatsoever, as if the incident had never happened.
This reaction confirmed Fang Xi’s belief. . . something even bigger was still to come!
...
One day, Fang Xi received another letter from the Ink Gate.
His divine consciousness entered the jade slip, carrying both a hint of joy and a touch of helplessness.
A moment later, he made a decision, instantly transforming into a streak of demonic light, flickering once in mid-air, shrinking his escape light to the absolute minimum, and covertly heading towards the Xuanming Abyss.
At the same time.
Outside Kungsang Market, a blurred figure emerged.
This figure was entirely translucent, with what appeared to be fine scales on either side of its face. In its hand, it held a strange spherical pearl.
“Crimson Blood perished, and the Ancestor already felt there was a problem with the Xuanming Abyss, specifically bestowing this ‘Hidden Dragon Pearl’. . . ”
The figure muttered: “It wasn’t for nothing that I’ve been staked out here for so long. . . I’d like to see where this Qing Hezi intends to go. . . ”
The translucent spherical pearl in its hand immediately emitted a layer of faint light, making its form almost completely transparent, so much so that even the divine consciousness and spiritual eyes of high-level cultivators would struggle to detect it.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless waves of Profound Nether Heavy Water crashed heavily against the massive steel island.
The steel barrier was instantly corroded with numerous black holes, but then a layer of black ‘water flow’ glided over it—these were densely packed miniature mechanical puppets, rapidly repairing everything.
Utilizing cheap materials and the consumption of Profound Nether Heavy Water to maintain a dynamic equilibrium—this was the design philosophy of the super-large aquatic operation platform!
Fang Xi transformed into a streak of escape light and landed on the platform.
[Ding, verifying authorization. . . ]
[Highest authority obtained. . . ]
Taiyi’s mechanical voice rang out.
Fang Xi, ignored by numerous cannon barrels, landed in the core area of the steel fortress and entered an underground chamber.
After a long elevator ride, he arrived at a submersible dock.
Before him was a vast underground chamber, surrounded on all four sides by steel, yet containing a huge black pool of water.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At this moment, the pool churned turbidly, and then a pitch-black eight-armed octopus crawled out. Each of its octopus arms possessed both biological and mechanical beauty, moving with incredible fluidity.
The massive eight octopus arms acted as supports, and its huge head opened, revealing a hatch from which one person emerged: none other than Mo Yinqiu!
He looked around, a interested expression appearing on his face: “Daoist Qing Hezi. . . your puppet mechanism arts are quite ingenious. But. . . why go to such trouble? ”
Originally, in his mind, they could have simply found any reef on the surface of the sea to conduct their trade.
“Recently, it hasn’t been peaceful outside. . . there’s been a mysterious Return to Void cultivator ambushing and killing a Soul Transformation cultivator from the Dragon Taming Sect. ”
Fang Xi spoke slowly, looking at Mo Yinqiu.
Mo Yinqiu was deep in thought, and then a hint of joy appeared on his face.
“It seems, Daoist, you have some conjectures? ” Fang Xi’s heart settled, and he deliberately asked.
“Well, it’s just a guess. . . According to the previous sect master, the Dragon Taming Sect is probably already controlled by that Return to Void old dragon, perhaps even refining human high-level cultivators into human pets. . . Otherwise, it’s impossible to explain why they would regularly harvest their subordinate Soul Transformation sects. Such actions are even more demonic than demonic cultivators. . . ”
Mo Yinqiu did not conceal it, relaying the previous sect master’s conjecture: “Perhaps this matter has come to the attention of the superior sect, and they are investigating. . . the destruction of the Dragon Taming Sect is not far off! ”
“If it’s merely a sect controlled by a monster beast, it wouldn’t warrant such a large-scale mobilization. . . Perhaps there are other factors, for example. . . the demon race intervening? ! ”
Fang Xi’s eyes flickered, then he chuckled: “Daoist, you summoned me here, so it must be for an important matter? ”
When the serious matter was brought up, Mo Yinqiu’s expression also became solemn: “Thanks to Daoist’s strong support, we finally found a flaw in the ‘Nine Serenities Divine Thunder Array’ and were able to enter the mystic realm. . . Although that mystic realm has the ability to weaken cultivation, ordinary Five Elements restrictions can eventually be worn away with more time. . . Not long ago, my Ink Gate has already breached the restrictions and truly entered the mystic realm to explore, obtaining some gains. . . ”
According to the previous ‘Immortal Spirit Document Contract’, this was content that had to be reported.
“Oh? What gains did you get from the mystic realm? ”
Fang Xi became interested.
“We haven’t explored the core yet, only the outer perimeter. We discovered that methods of controlling puppets, spirit beasts, or even yin souls are unfeasible. . . those puppets, spirit beasts, and yin souls quickly lose control and rush madly towards the depths after entering the mystic realm. ”
Mo Yinqiu shook his head: “Therefore, cultivators must explore it themselves, but it also has the ability to weaken cultivation. . . Its internal structure is so complex that this old man confirmed the ‘Nine Serenities Divine Thunder Array’ on the outer perimeter was merely a seal added by later generations. ”
Fang Xi listened and also found it a bit troublesome.
But he wanted even less to enter that mystic realm. If his cultivation was weakened to the Core Formation realm, and he then perished from a random danger, wouldn’t that be a terrible injustice?
“My Ink Gate suffered heavy casualties, but we finally brought out a few gains, Daoist, please see. . . ”
Mo Yinqiu flicked his sleeve, and three items shimmered forth, floating in mid-air.
Fang Xi’s gaze was first drawn to an object like mutton-fat jade.
This object was the size of a baby’s fist, and within it, there seemed to be a hazy qi, giving him a sense of trembling and longing.
After a moment of thought, he ventured to guess: “Could this object be. . . Immortal Jade? ! ”
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