Chapter 96: Spirit Serpent Armor (Seeking Monthly Votes)
Chapter 96: Spirit Serpent Armor (Seeking Monthly Votes)
Treasure Ship Market.
From afar, Fang Xi disembarked from his Black Feather Boat, having changed his appearance into that of a square-faced burly man, and landed at the entrance, standing atop a mid-grade artifact flying sword.
"Esteemed Immortal Master, do you require a guide?"
A group of mortals immediately surrounded him, their expressions eager and respectful.
"You'll do!"
Fang Xi casually pointed at one person—it was Mo Qingyi!
"Thank you, Immortal Master! This humble one will lead the way!"
Mo Qingyi looked much the same as before; after all, not many years had passed. He led the way eagerly: "May I ask what information this Immortal Master desires? This humble one is exceedingly familiar with this market. . ."
Fang Xi secretly scoffed.
Mo Qingyi at most knew some of the market's overt channels; he was merely a mortal, after all.
In terms of resource channels, he was far inferior to the long-standing Old Man Rotwood.
The reason he hired a guide was simply to establish his image as a newcomer, as no seasoned cultivator would fall for such a ploy.
"Your surname is Mo, and you're of the Qing generation. Is there any relation to the Mo family of Black Sand Island? " Fang Xi asked casually, thinking of Mo Qing Yu.
"To be honest with this Immortal Master, this humble one's ancestors indeed hailed from the Mo family of Black Sand Island! " Mo Qingyi instinctively straightened his back as he replied.
"I see. " Fang Xi didn't press further. It was understandable for immortal cultivators to have numerous descendants, with a branch ending up on Treasure Ship Island.
Besides, perhaps this was a contingency plan for those immortal cultivation families!
Even if the main branch on Black Sand Island was annihilated, their bloodline would still persist outside.
If their luck was even better, they might even stage a glorious return, like Ruan Xing Ling, revitalizing their family for a second, or even third, time!
Family prosperity!
For family cultivators, besides Foundation Establishment, this was probably their greatest aspiration.
"Who is the best artifact refiner here? I need him to refine an artifact for me!"
Fang Xi feigned a rough and forthright manner.
Mo Qingyi thought for a moment: "The best artifact refiner in this market, Esteemed Immortal Master, should be Master Lu of Tian Gong Fang. Years ago, he was already a first-order superior-grade artifact refiner, and his skill has only grown more exquisite. . . Besides him, Guest Elder Cui of Dragon Gate Pavilion, and the rogue cultivator 'Gong Zhuzi', all possess extremely profound artifact refining techniques. . ."
'No issues there, it's pretty much what I'd heard before. '
Fang Xi considered this, then said: "First, let's go to Tian Gong Fang and find Master Lu!"
...
Tian Gong Fang.
This place was divided into two buildings, front and back. The front building was an ordinary artifact shop, while the back housed numerous artifact refining chambers, drawing on underground fire. Even through the walls, one could feel the scorching heat.
As Fang Xi entered the shop, a greeter stepped forward to welcome him: "What kind of artifact are you looking to purchase, esteemed guest?"
"A custom order. I'm looking for Master Lu!"
Fang Xi casually tossed out a low-grade Spirit Stone.
The greeter's eyes immediately lit up: "Esteemed guest, please come to the private room. This humble one will fetch you some tea. . ."
Mo Qingyi naturally waited outside the shop.
A moment later, in the private room, a tall, muscular man walked in: "Esteemed guest, what kind of artifact would you like to have custom-made?"
Fang Xi looked at the closed door and cleared his throat: "I need a superior-grade artifact crafted from monster beast materials. Can you guarantee discretion here?"
Master Lu's brows furrowed, then relaxed: "Please rest assured, esteemed guest. Our Tian Gong Fang has been established for over two hundred years, and we have even crafted spirit artifacts for Foundation Establishment cultivators. . . Very well, I can first make a heart demon oath to absolutely not reveal your privacy, fellow Daoist. . ."
"Thank you!"
Fang Xi cupped his hands, watching as the other party made the oath. Only then did he pat his storage bag.
With a flash of light, a scroll of snakeskin and a large quantity of snake bones appeared.
A faint sense of pressure emanated from the snakeskin, snake scales, and even the snake bones.
"Indeed, a first-order superior-grade demonic snake. . . Eh? The quality, it's remarkably good."
Master Lu activated a spell, and a wisp of flame appeared on his finger, scorching a snake scale.
Half a day passed, and the scale remained utterly unchanged.
His expression couldn't help but turn serious: "This snake's bloodline seems quite extraordinary!"
"Precisely. To craft a full body Spirit Armor from these materials, what would be the cost?"
Fang Xi asked with a smile.
Master Lu pondered for a moment before replying: "These monster beast materials are difficult to refine with ordinary flames; we'll have to use the underground fire vein behind Tian Gong Fang. Spirit Armor is also a big project, requiring at least a month! As for the price. . . two hundred Spirit Stones!"
At an ordinary artifact shop outside, a single-function superior-grade artifact would only cost around a hundred Spirit Stones.
"Understood. I'll pay half as a deposit first. Once the artifact is refined, I'll pay the other half. Let's draw up the contract!"
Fang Xi nodded, watching Master Lu write the contract. They each input a trace of their magical power, then Fang Xi took out one hundred Spirit Stones from his storage bag, retrieved his copy of the contract, and walked out of Tian Gong Fang.
After leaving Tian Gong Fang, he dismissed Mo Qingyi, blended into the crowd, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
A moment later, Fang Xi, now in different clothes and with a new face, directly rented a temporary cave-dwelling in the market for a month, settling down.
Each day, he would adopt a different appearance to sell monster beast materials and acquire large quantities of pills, talisman paper, spiritual ores, and other raw materials.
Time flowed like water, and more than twenty days flew by in an instant.
Teahouse.
Old Man Rotwood was long gone, but even with a new owner, the teahouse's business remained brisk.
Fang Xi occasionally came to drink spiritual tea and listen to news from Myriad Islands Lake and even the cultivation world of the State of Yue.
This day.
He, as usual, ordered a cup of "Five Carp Playing with Pearl" and was admiring the spiritual carp chasing each other when he heard the teahouse owner lamenting: "Have you all heard. . . of the reappearance of the demonic cultivator Situ Clan?"
"The Situ Clan? !"
Fang Xi inwardly sighed; how long had it been since he'd heard that familiar name?
He looked up, a slight smile on his face: "Please, enlighten me, master of the house. I'll ensure there's no shortage of spiritual tea and pastries. . ."
"Many thanks, many thanks!"
The teahouse owner laughed heartily. He relied on sharing cultivation world secrets and the latest news to attract cultivators for tea, earning a modest living.
After cupping his hands in all directions, he began to speak like a storyteller, almost reaching for a storytelling gavel: "Speaking of the Situ Clan, they were once one of the seven great immortal cultivation families of the State of Yue. What makes a family a 'cultivation family'? Only if every generation produces Foundation Establishment cultivators can a clan be considered a cultivation family! In the State of Yue, below the Black Heaven Sect and beyond the five major sects, they were among them!"
Red Leaf Valley was once also one of the five major sects, but it was later annihilated. However, a new Foundation Establishment sect, the 'Qi Yang Pai,' rose to prominence and took Red Leaf Valley's place.
Fang Xi felt that behind the changes in power in the State of Yue, there seemed to be an invisible black hand at work.
That black hand was none other than the Black Heaven Sect!
The Black Heaven Sect occupied the most vital third-order spiritual energy lands in the State of Yue, as well as the most lucrative Spirit Stone mineral veins and the largest market towns.
Then, they distributed the inaccessible fringes to the subordinate Foundation Establishment families and sects, maintaining the number at thirteen.
Once a branch showed signs of growing stronger than the main trunk, it would be immediately pruned, like the former Situ Clan and Red Leaf Valley.
And after the pruning, new forces would be propped up to replace them, continuing to serve as dogs for the Black Heaven Sect!
The lowest-tier Qi Refinement families and sects, on the other hand, wished to be dogs but couldn't even achieve that.
"After the Situ Clan was annihilated, many of its members escaped and turned into Demonic Cultivators. The largest faction among them was the 'Heaven Extermination Alliance'! This force has been designated a demonic cultivation organization by the Black Heaven Sect, and rewards have been offered for their leaders, but they have yet to be eradicated."
"Just recently, this 'Heaven Extermination Alliance' carried out another major act—they ransacked a market town under the Song Clan! It is said that all the Song Clan disciples were slaughtered, and their heads were hung beneath the market's archway. The scene was utterly ghastly. . . And this act completely enraged the Black Heaven Sect; that Core Formation ancestor of the Black Heaven Sect even personally made a move!"
The teahouse owner paused at the most exciting part, merely drinking his tea.
Some impatient cultivators immediately clamored: "Boss, why stop? Keep going. . . The Core Formation ancestor made a move, what happened next?"
The teahouse owner merely smiled without speaking.
It was only when Fang Xi took the lead and refilled the pot of spiritual tea that he chuckled: "With a Core Formation grand cultivator making a move, the outcome goes without saying. The Heaven Extermination Alliance was caught by their tails, and it's said that a Foundation Establishment cultivator died on the spot. . ."
"But even so, the Situ Clan and the 'Heaven Extermination Alliance' were not completely annihilated. Instead, they fled southeast and hid within the borders of the State of Mu!"
...
"The State of Mu!"
Fang Xi understood. The Green Wood Sect of this country, like the Black Heaven Sect, had Core Formation ancestors presiding over them. In fact, they had nearly come to blows over the Spirit Seeker incident before, causing quite a bit of unpleasantness.
The remaining evil members of the Situ Clan fleeing into this country was indeed a good choice.
"Why did the Heaven Extermination Alliance destroy the Song Clan's market town? " another cultivator asked.
"Heh heh. . . The Black Heaven Sect's market towns are heavily guarded, protected by at least second-order superior-grade mountain-protecting formations, and garrisoned by experts at least at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm. Even if the Heaven Extermination Alliance had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare! The Song Clan, however, is different. . ."
The teahouse owner chuckled: "Furthermore. . . it was primarily the Song Clan that led the actual annihilation of the Situ Clan back then. The two families can be said to have a hatred as deep as the sea! However, this Song Clan is also not simple; the Song Clan's Ancestor is a Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivator, a major figure with hopes of achieving Core Formation in the future. . ."
Hearing that the subsequent narrative was merely a repetitive boast of how the Core Formation ancestor's intervention caused the heavens to fall and the earth to rend, with little new content, Fang Xi rose and left the teahouse.
'I didn't expect to hear news of old acquaintances. . . The Situ Clan, the Song Clan, heh heh. . . '
Neither of these clans were good things. The more fiercely these dogs bit each other, the happier Fang Xi would be.
There was no news of Chen Ping, Jiu Xuan Shang Ren, or others he had been following.
Presumably, it was because their cultivation was shallow and they had little renown.
If he couldn't inquire about them, then so be it.
Fang Xi, in his guise as the square-faced burly man, arrived at Tian Gong Fang.
Inside the private room.
"You've come at just the right time, esteemed guest. The armor has been completed. Please take a look!"
Master Lu, his arms bare, laughed heartily as he opened a massive iron chest.
Inside the chest lay a set of Spirit Armor.
From the inner armor, outer armor, to the arm guards, wrist guards, knee pads, boots, gloves, helmet. . . it was all-encompassing, each piece radiating powerful spiritual light.
"I'm pleased to report that this 'Spirit Serpent Armor' is a first-order superior-grade artifact, imbued with formations like 'Fortification,' 'Water Repellent,' and 'Perfect Fit'. . . Moreover, it naturally carries an aura of deterrence, making snakes and insects afraid to approach, and having a certain intimidating effect on poisonous creatures. Its total weight is sixty-seven jin!"
Master Lu's face was flushed with excitement, his eyes shining as he introduced it.
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