Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
For a rogue cultivator, the most precious resource wasnât spirit tools, talismans, or even technique manualsâit was Poji Pellets.
This man was a good example why. Although heâd saved up quite an ample amount of resources for himself by robbing other rogue cultivators and heâd done all sorts of shady things to forcibly improve himself to Spirit Stage tier six, heâd still been stuck at tier six for many years because he didnât have a Poji Pellet. Heâd begged his cousin many times and sent plenty of gifts, yet he still hadnât managed to get his hands on one.
Poji Pellets were rare. To a certain extent, a Poji Pellet was an opportunity for someone to enter a new level, and the various sects and clans had seemingly agreed to take strict control over how many Poji Pellets there were, making it hard for outsiders to obtain them.
For a sect disciple, a Poji Pellet might just be a bit expensive, but for a rogue cultivator, it couldnât even be bought. Of course, this wasnât absolute; someone could still purchase it if they were willing to spend a fortune, although the price for them would typically be ten times greater. It was also because of this that when the man saw the pale yellow pellet in Fang Xingâs hand, his breathing had become momentarily hurried.
âThis pelletâŠ. Are you really going to give it to me, Sir?â The manâs voice even shook as he took short, rushed breaths.
âThat would depend on whether your information is satisfying or not!â Fang Xing coldly laughed before putting his pellet away. âThese kinds of pellets arenât anything to me anyways, but to youâŠ.â He didnât finish his sentence, and instead just folded his hands behind his back while raising his head towards the sky.
The manâs eyes glistened and he didnât hesitate at all. âI am willing to work beneath you, Sir!â
Fang Xing smirked with a wink. âDonât call me âSirâ. Call me your uncle!â
Slightly stunned by this, the man immediately replied, âI am willing to work beneath you, UncleâŠâ
âOff you go, then, and take this Message Talisman with you. If thereâs any information, fill it with Qi and I will naturally be able to hear you. Deliver any information about that fatty to me without delay.â Fang Xing then nodded in satisfaction before continuing, âOh, by the way, you might want to sort these two corpses outâŠ. Iâve killed two of your comrades, you donât have a problem with that, right?â
The man spat on the ground. âThey deserved this! These two sons of turtle egg bastards broke the law numerous times and committed all sorts of atrocities! They should have been killed ages ago!â
It was Fang Xingâs turn to be stunned, but he soon grinned once more. âWhatâs your name?â
The man showed an ingratiating smile. âMy surname is Zhang. Iâm the seventh child, so Uncle can call me Zhang SevenâŠ. Did esteemed uncle have any more instructions?â
Fang Xing cupped his hands. âNo, no. You just impressed me, thatâs allâŠ.â Fang Xing then left in a daze. After meeting someone who was even more shameless than he was, he felt a little gloomy.
After leaving, Fang Xing repeated the same process and forced a few more resourceful-looking people to help him find the same information. Once that was all done, he changed into a different set of clothing and found himself a lodge located in a quiet area in the eastern district. He rarely left his accommodations and simply waited for his scouts to deliver more information.
As for why he hadnât decided to stay in the central portion of the city, it was because heâd already seen through it with his Book of Revelation. Within Sea Beast City, the central area had a defensive formation that made it easy to enter but difficult to leave, while the four districts surrounding it did not.
Fang Xing didnât waste time during this period and chose to quietly focus on practicing his cultivation to raise his tier. During his travel to the city, heâd already appraised in detail all of the resources heâd gotten from the Danxia, Shanhe, and Shuwen valleys, and heâd sorted them into different categories based on their use. Among these items, the one he was fond of most of all was the twelve superior-quality Spirit Growth Pellets, which were particularly good for improving cultivation level. These Spirit Growth Pellets were crafted by mixing a number of beast pellets together, and its medicinal properties were extraordinary; for someone in Spirit Stage, it could only be considered a priceless treasure.
It made one wonder why Qinânyao had kept such great stuff and hadnât given them to Xu Linyun or Xiao Mahn to use. Perhaps these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets were simply too precious and she must have been reluctant to give them out, yet now all twelve of these pellets sheâd saved for so long all belonged to Fang Xing, just perfect for him to use for himself. After absorbing nearly thirty years of Xiao Shanheâs lifespan, Fang Xingâs cultivation level had already reached the early stages of Spirit Stage tier eight, and the most precious part of these twelve Spirit Growth Pellets was that these alone would be enough for him to reach tier nineâall he needed was some time to start the process.
In truth, Fang Xingâs extremely slow rate of improvement in cultivation tiers was entirely because of his method using the True Samadhi Fire to purify his Qi and the extremely terrifying amount of resources he had to waste to do so. If it was an ordinary cultivator, let alone twelve Spirit Growth Pellets, even just the thirty years from Xiao Shanhe would have been enough to bring them from tier seven to the peak of tier nine, or even a half-step away from Foundation Stage.
Fang Xing leaving the Qing-Yun Sect had actually been an inevitable conclusion. Once his cultivation level had increased to a certain point, the Qing-Yun Sect wouldnât have enough resources to actually afford supporting him.
By the third day staying in the city, Fang Xingâs scouts had all gradually delivered him the information heâd been waiting for, and this helped him have a basic understanding of the plump Daoistâs current situation. It could indeed be said the plump Daoist had stumbled upon a great opportunity; not even Fang Xing had expected a plain manual heâd given awayâone that had been left in the sack purely by accidentâwould stimulate the plump Daoistâs special talent, who had followed the instructions in the Spirit Beast Metamorphosis manual and mastered the Ganglieâs spirit form rather easily.
The Myriad Beasts Sectâs inheritance involved many different beasts, but there were three extremely powerful beast spirits of note. As long as someone was able to inherit one of the three beast spirits, their cultivation level and battle prowess would increase exponentially, making breaking into the Foundation Stage a breeze. The form the plump Daoist had practiced was precisely the prerequisite required to inherit the Ganglieâs beast spirit, and for someone to reach mastery in it showed they possessed a great talent to do so.
The three most powerful spirit beasts were the Spirit of the Nine-Headed Lion, the Spirit of the Yinglong Dragon <sup>1</sup> , and the Spirit of the Ganglie. At present, the Nine-Headed Lion had been inherited by the sect master of the Myriad Beasts Sect, while the Yinglong Dragon had been inherited by the sect masterâs only daughter. The only one yet to be inherited was that of the Ganglie, and inheriting it meant reaching the heavens with a single step and becoming the third most powerful person within the Myriad Beasts Sect.
Another important thing to note was that not only did these three spirits have a hand in oneâs status, but also in breaking through into the Foundation Stage.
The Myriad Beastsâ Sect inheritance was extremely peculiar. Due to trading beast cores and beast pellets, the sect disciples didnât lack resources, and quite a number of powerful youths had been produced within the younger generationâall at Spirit Stage tier nine at a very young age. However, the Myriad Beasts Sect didnât have any Foundation Stage manuals, let alone alchemists who could craft Foundation Pellets, and so it was extremely difficult for those within the Myriad Beasts Sect to break into the Foundation Stage.
These three beast spirits that allowed the inheritor to break through were akin to three opportunities to step into Foundation Stage. Since the Nine-Headed Lion and Yinglong Dragon had already been inherited, the only remaining chance was for the Ganglie; it was only natural for quite a few people to have their eyes on it.
At least for now, there were currently two people in the Myriad Beasts Sect who wanted to inherit the Ganglie. Of these two, one was the head pupil and core disciple of the Myriad Beasts SectâChu Zhaoyangâand the other was the son of the Qi clan of the Bohai KingdomâQi Heng. These two hadnât yet mastered the Ganglie form and were only able to display seventy percent of its potential if they forced themselves to inherit it. Since the plump Daoist had already mastered the Ganglie form, it meant this person and spirit had been brought together by fate; as long as he studied diligently, there was a high chance heâd be able to display the full one hundred percent of its power should he inherit it.
Such a person would undoubtedly become a huge benefit to the Myriad Beasts Sect in the future.
That being said, the other two had either a special background or status. One was a core pupil studying under the sect master, and was assuredly loyal towards the sect; the other was backed by one of the most ancient and wealthy clan of the Bohai Kingdom, with such vast wealth and deep connections that even the sect master had to consider the matter carefully. Besides, although the plump Daoist had been all too willing, whether he would actually stay true and loyal to the Myriad Beasts Sect was unknownâhe was an outsider, after all. As such, the sect master still had his reservations.
For a matter like this, the final decision wouldnât be made until seven days from now. The Sect Master of the Myriad Beasts had decided these three would visit and offer sacrifice to the Qingqiu Tomb to ultimately decide on the final successor.
According to Zhang Seven, the Qingqiu Tomb was a location in the Bohai Kingdom so mysterious, it was impossible for someone of his level to find out any specific information. Rather than question Zhang Seven further, Fang Xing just turned and asked the golden crow once the man had left. The crow was rather familiar with the area since heâd been involved with the Myriad Beasts Sect for some time in the past, so he could only coldly laugh. âSeems like the sect has given up on that fat friend of yours!â
Fang Xing raised his brows. âWhat sort of crap place is that whatever-itâs-called tomb?â
âI donât know the exact location, but I know itâs a very important place to the Myriad Beasts Sect. It has always been heavily guarded, and every once in a while, the Myriad Beasts sect master would collect all sorts of rare beast flesh and blood to use as sacrifice for the Qingqiu Tomb. If he decided to use the Qingqiu Tomb to determine who out of these three will become the successor of the inheritance spirit, then it will undoubtedly be through blood sacrifice. Itâs a competition to see who can collect the rarest type of blood orâto be frankâa competition on who is richer. How could that fatty compete with them?â
Slightly surprised, Fang Xing sighed. âVery true. I knew this was too good to be trueâŠ. Itâs a good thing I followed alongâŠ.â
âYouâve got plenty of money now, though. Are you thinking of helping out that friend of yours?â
âI donât have money! Iâve only got this much; I have to be careful with how I spend it!â
âYou penny pincher, how do you plan on helping him, then?â
Fang Xing let out a loud laugh. âThere are only three candidates. Wouldnât it all be over if the other two are killed off?â
[1] Yinglong Dragon: ćșéŸ (ying4 long2), literally âresponsive dragonâ, also known as the Winged Rain Dragon.