Chapter 962: Loophole
Chapter 962: Loophole
"Yan Jia, what's wrong? "
Fang Xi, having achieved Sword Immortal cultivation, naturally exuded an imposing aura, which caused Yan Jia's heart to tremble with awe. He immediately bowed and presented a large red invitation: "The Six Star Gate's Martial Arts Assembly has been set for the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month at Cang Mang Shan. This is the invitation Master Gong sent to you."
Fang Xi took it and saw that the invitation was inlaid with gold edges, quite extravagant. On the large red page, ink brush strokes, like iron paintings and silver hooks, detailed the time and place of the Shu Mountain Martial Arts Assembly. He couldn't help but sneer, "I was just about to go and settle some karma!"
That business with Yan Tie was, truthfully, hardly worth mentioning. It was just as he'd imagined, someone wanted to become the Martial Alliance Leader.
He was about to pay them a visit and let them know what it meant to draw water with a bamboo basket—all for naught!
"However, some Sword Knights like to mingle in the mortal world, and this time, with the conflict between orthodox and demonic martial arts, there might even be some highly cultivated experts secretly showing up. . . I might as well go join the fun."
"Go back and tell them I'll certainly be there," Fang Xi instructed Yan Jia after his cold sneer.
This was his first long journey since entering the path of cultivation. He was bound to encounter cultivators, so he needed to prepare some handy artifacts and treasures.
Alas, even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice!
"Actually, it wouldn't be impossible to bring one from the True Immortal World, but it would certainly be targeted by the heavens and earth here. . ."
The laws of this world were strict. Fang Xi, as an outsider, was like a foreign object in its body, making things very uncomfortable.
If it were just a wisp of a phantom true spirit, it would be fine.
But if he were to transfer spirit stones, artifacts, or immortal artifacts from the True Immortal World, the targeting he would receive would likely intensify tenfold, even a hundredfold!
Fang Xi even suspected that his inability to find immortal opportunities for many years was partly due to this world deliberately targeting him!
Therefore, he wasn't even willing for his main body to send out an External Avatar, and naturally, he wouldn't use foreign objects, needlessly depleting his own fortune and blessings.
"Make do with what's available. . . make do with what's available. . ."
Fang Xi exhaled a stream of Five Elements True Fire, coiling around the dark dagger. Before long, he refined it, turning it into a molten mass of iron.
He then took out the small banner that had been refined with "Black Wind Dark Blood Malevolent Qi," directly dismantling it and extracting the wisp of malevolent qi. It subtly melted into the molten iron, used to temper the blade. This molten iron, transformed from thousand-year profound iron, was continuously refined by Fang Xi, who channeled true fire into it, eventually forming a dark sword embryo.
Fang Xi immediately took out a few more ore samples from his storage pouch and, combining them with the banner pole, refined a sword hilt. He then drew out the silks from the Five Silkworms—Golden, Black, White, Heavenly, and Ice Silkworms—that had woven the banner's surface, wrapping them around the hilt.
In this way, a flying sword with a dark blade was crudely formed.
However, Fang Xi knew that this could only be called a sword-shaped artifact; it was not a true flying sword at all!
The true flying swords of Orthodox Daoist Sects first required extremely strict selection of materials, needing essences of five metals, or Taiyi Profound Gold, Heavenly River Star Sand, and other materials, ensuring they were utterly pure and naturally spiritual. Then, various restrictions would be inscribed, and they would be refined with true fire to become both formless and insubstantial, yet substantial and tangible. . . This cycle would repeat several times, with top-tier ones undergoing dozens, even hundreds of cycles, to obtain a relatively pure sword embryo.
Only then would hundreds or thousands of spiritual herbs be collected to temper the blade, ultimately allowing the flying sword to take shape. It would then be placed within the body for nurturing, requiring at least sixty years of arduous effort to obtain a flying sword perfect in both form and substance!
This was still the path of Orthodox Daoist Sects, whose vast and pure magical power could save much effort.
If it were a heterodox cultivator, they wouldn't be able to refine a flying sword in several hundred years. Even if they managed to refine a sword embryo, it would have to be passed down from grandfather-master to master, master to apprentice, apprentice to grand-apprentice, with generations taking turns to finally achieve it.
Fang Xi, on one hand, lacked secret sword-refining techniques, and on the other, was unwilling to expend his own cultivation just to refine a flying sword.
Thus, he casually refined a sword-shaped artifact to serve as a means of travel.
In fact, he had another idea in mind.
"This sword. . . can be named the 'Heavenly Demon Beheading Immortal Sword. ' I'll publicly declare that I've refined countless Heavenly Demon secret seals into it, restraining extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons, allowing me to borrow their power, making it incredibly vicious!"
This was Fang Xi's preemptive fabrication of a background, considering that he would eventually summon his External Avatar to fight on his behalf.
In case he was investigated, at least he would have an excuse!
"Actually, it's not an excuse. Relative to this world, aren't I just an extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon?"
"Hmm, I'll also need to use the All-Heavens Precious Mirror to add another layer of concealment to my original illusory destiny: that I am a reincarnation of an ancient immortal. . . Otherwise, a martial arts hero suddenly gaining magical power and becoming a Sword Knight would be reasonable, but suddenly turning into a Sword Immortal, and even rapidly condensing a Primordial Spirit in the future, would be difficult to explain. . ."
"Eh? Wait, something seems off. . ."
Fang Xi held his scaled-down, beggar's version of the "Heavenly Demon Beheading Immortal Sword" and suddenly felt something amiss:
"A heterodox rogue immortal, fond of collecting various flying swords and sword-refining techniques. . ."
"Cultivating the 'Hunyuan Heavenly Book'. . ."
"Wielding the 'Heavenly Demon Beheading Immortal Sword', restraining extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons for his own use. . ."
"Am I playing the script of a certain patriarch from Mount Wutai?"
"Then where is my Fei Niang?"
...
A few days later.
Fang Xi unleashed a streak of sword light and headed towards Cang Mang Shan.
This streak of sword light, formed by the crude "Heavenly Demon Beheading Immortal Sword," was half black and half green, clearly indicating it was from the heterodox path.
Historically, among sword lights, pure colors were considered supreme, belonging to the Orthodox Daoist schools, while the sword lights of heterodoxy were mostly mottled.
Of course, Fang Xi's sword light was cast from an artifact, not a genuine flying sword. Even with his profound and pure magical power, he couldn't avoid the dim and mottled appearance of the sword light.
Riding swords in flight, entering and exiting the azure heavens, was the joy of a Sword Immortal.
Although Fang Xi's sword light was ordinary, it was still much faster than the martial arts magnates riding Night-Shining Lion Steeds or Blood-Sweating Heavenly Horses.
He arrived at the Cang Mang Shan territory more than ten days before the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.
"This martial arts assembly is actually a play self-directed and self-performed by the Six Star Gate, intending to promote their young sect master, 'Thunderbolt' Lei Jie. . . For this, they even went so far as to impersonate the Evil Lord and his subordinates, destroying several sects at odds with the Six Star Gate."
"But this is only the first layer!"
"Within the Six Star Gate, undercurrents had already been stirring. Several Lei family elders were controlled by Miao Borderlands Gu poison, planning to suggest a martial arts contest to seize the leadership during the assembly. They would first poison Lei Jie, ensuring he died on the arena! Then, the victor would smoothly take over the Six Star Gate and the position of Martial Alliance Leader!"
"But this is only the second layer. . . The Evil Lord of the demonic path had already received the news and was intensely preparing to wipe out all the orthodox martial artists!"
"He is the master of the demonic path, and he has gathered a group of unconventional individuals from the martial world as his wings, among whom there are quite a few characters who have cultivated evil faction magical power and brutal magical techniques. . . Originally, cultivators didn't interfere in the bloody struggles of the martial world, but since evil experts are involved in this matter, it's naturally different. Several Sword Immortal sects have thrown it out as trial missions for their disciples, and quite a few young Sword Immortals and Sword Knights of the orthodox path are mixed in with them. . ."
Fang Xi's Primordial Spirit was anchored in the void, comprehensively examining past and future. In a flash, he clearly understood the entire sequence of events behind this Cang Mang Shan Martial Arts Assembly.
"I was attacked by Yan Tie. . . although instigated by the Six Star Gate, it was actually secretly pushed by that collateral descendant of the Lei family who poisoned the Lei family elders. After all, his martial arts were shallow; without poisoning or attacking his opponents, he wouldn't have much confidence in winning the martial arts contest to seize the leadership. . ."
"If I were to seek out Grandmaster Gong and others for this, I would be completely targeting the wrong people, and the hidden mastermind would clap in delight, laughing in secret as he watched the show. This was also his malicious intent: even if the plan was exposed, someone would suffer heavy losses with Grandmaster Gong and others, making it easier for him to control the Six Star Gate. . . After all, Grandmaster Gong isn't a Lei family member and isn't very close to him, so it would be difficult to poison him, and being a Grandmaster, his senses are keen, he might even discover it."
He performed another divination, and everything about the hidden mastermind became clear:
"Lei Juexin, a collateral descendant of the Lei family. His martial arts were average, his concealed weapons skills were average. . . but after an accidental fall off a cliff, he unexpectedly gained the legacy of a heterodox cultivator from the Miao Borderlands. That Miao Borderlands cultivator was a Gu Poison Master, skilled in Gu-releasing arts. . . Lei Juexin's cultivation aptitude was also average, and the magical power he cultivated was shallow, barely reaching the Sword Knight level. . ."
"But he was meticulous in his schemes, secretly plotting against a number of Lei family elders. The Lei family is a major clan of the Six Star Gate, and it has always been their family's tradition to inherit the position of sect master; Grandmaster Gong is considered an outsider. . . Therefore, he could instigate many actions. This time, he even jumped out, desiring to become the Martial Alliance Leader!"
If it were any other Orthodox Daoist Sword Immortal, seeing such conduct, they would surely spit in Lei Juexin's face.
An ordinary person who gains an immortal opportunity would be diligently cultivating, eager to achieve immortality. Actively taking on the position of Martial Alliance Leader, which is so heavily entangled with karma, isn't that just insane?
Even mortal emperors, crying out to enter the Dao and cultivate immortality, are considered too heavily burdened by karma to be nurtured, and cultivators avoid them like the plague.
Lei Juexin's actions were a prime example of abandoning the root for the branch.
"As for the Evil Lord, I don't need to bother; the various orthodox Sword Immortals will deal with him. . ."
"But this Lei Juexin, I should still kill him. Otherwise, my mind wouldn't be at peace."
As for those Lei family elders, once Lei Juexin dies, the Gu poison will be incurable, and they will surely die a horrific death, which could be considered indirect revenge for Fang Xi.
And he wouldn't have to dirty his hands or incur too much karmic killing debt.
Although Fang Xi didn't care, cultivators in this world did. They pursued perfection in both internal and external cultivation, accumulating more good merit.
"Actually, this 'good merit' is very questionable. . . At most, it's human dao merit. The Heavenly Dao is ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs. Life and death are merely internal cycles of heaven and earth. How can there be an idea that saving people brings merit? Unless one attacks another world, thereby augmenting the origin of this world, then perhaps true Heavenly Dao Merit would descend. . ."
"Hmm? This, seems like a promising idea?"
Fang Xi's eyes slightly lit up.
Other cultivators, even Heavenly Immortals or Golden Immortals, wishing to attack other worlds and plunder their heavenly origins, had no means to do so.
But for him, wielding the All-Heavens Precious Mirror, it would naturally be effortless.
He could entirely become a ruthless merit-farming machine, massively acquiring Heavenly Dao Merit, which was far more precious than human dao merit!
"According to the rules of this world, if I do this, I will be a Child of Destiny, whose actions would be unhindered!"
"I could even acquire any cultivation method, any immortal sword, any artifact. . . all would, by the operation of heavenly secrets, be actively delivered into my hands, making me Daddy Heaven's favorite little one!"
Comments