Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
Although the Fuyao Palace had given both Qinânyao and Xiao Shanhe Divine-level technique manuals and directed them towards the path of forming the golden core, the palace hadnât left behind any resources and the two had to gather some necessary items themselves.
Before the Mysterious Domain opened up, Elder Qinânyao had intended to marry off Xu Linyun as a concubine to an old cultivator over two hundred years old in exchange for a rare spirit herb. When the Mysterious Domain opened, however, Xu Linyun directly asked to enter in order to bring back the various resources Elder Qinânyao needed, and although Qinânyao was aware Xu Linyun had decided to kill herself within, her greed for the resources was simply too great. Qinânyao was also familiar with her studentâs temperament, and she knew that even if Xu Linyun ended up dying, sheâd still do everything in her power to help her teacher gather resources. For that reason, Qinânyao postponed the marriage and begged the White Dragon Sect to take Xu Linyun into the Mysterious Domain.
This situation naturally caused a large rift to form between teacher and pupil, and it was only now that Qinânyao remembered the little brat had always been rather close with Xu Linyunâthere was even news saying her treasured pupil protected that little brat without fearing for her own safety when heâd been surrounded. Qinânyao was left even more terrified and was worried Fang Xing would come back for her on Xu Linyunâs behalf.
Of course, these thoughts were all caused by her paranoid mind and vile heart. Not only had Xu Linyun not mentioned any of this to Fang Xing, sheâd even prepared a parting gift of gratitude for her teacher before leaving Jambu. It was simply that she and the blue-clothed bandit hadnât left the Mysterious Domain yet, so she simply hadnât had the chance to send a message over and Qinânyao was left with only her own speculation.
After having her true thoughts laid bare by Xiao Shanhe, Qinânyaoâs voice grew colder. âNo, that little brat dared to anger the Huangfu clan; it will be difficult for him to escape his deathâŚ.â She was absolutely certain Fang Xing would die.
Xiao Shanhe simply let out a cold laugh. âHe was merely a Spirit Stage insect in front of us before and we were certain heâd die then as well. What was the result? Itâs only been so many years, yet heâs already grown into someone weâre terrified to even think about. Besides, he slipped right past our eyes back then, and the Huangfu clan doesnât know where he is; how can you be so certain heâll definitely die this time? What if heâs found a safe hiding place and ends up hiding for dozens of years; who would be able to do anything to him then?â
Qinânyao shot a venomous gaze towards Xiao Shanhe and sternly asked, âIs there a reason for saying these things?â
Xiao Shanhe released a loud laugh, only for his tone to abruptly change before the laugh had finished. âThat little brat must die this time. If he doesnât die, we will . The path to the golden core will go up in smoke. Besides, heh, the Huangfu clan has really put a lot of effort into killing this little demon. Youâve read the details of the bounty as well; if we had that reward, just how easy would it be for us to form the golden core?â
Qinânyaoâs eyes lit up when she heard the word ârewardâ, but she grew dispirited and sighed after only a few moments. âItâs not like we can do much. We couldnât capture that brat even when he was weak, but now heâs formed his foundation and is infamous for his viciousness as a battle cultivator. One of us focuses on alchemy and the other on formations; how could we possibly capture him?â
Xiao Shanhe smirked at this. âWho said weâre going to capture him ourselves? Weâll just need to tell the Huangfu clan how to capture him!â Qinânyao turned to look at him with surprise, but Xiao Shanhe continued to laugh and say, âThat brat might not have any relatives, but there might still be someone who can force him outâŚ.â
Qinânyao instantly understood the meaning behind Xiao Shanheâs words, and even she couldnât help but to shiver at the thought.
While the Qing-Yun Sect was discussing Fang Xing, he was currently exploring within hundreds of thousands of mountains. He and the golden crow hadnât entered any cities or towns ever since and had been traveling through the mountain ranges, partially to avoid any trouble and partially to seek the spirit veins found within.
The heavens and earth were naturally filled with an abundance of Qi, and there were some special locations where Qi gathered in great abundance known as spirit veinsâthe places where Spirit Stones were mined from. Some cultivators would stay in the depths of the mountains all year long trying to find spirit veins that hadnât been discovered yet, then theyâd mine the Spirit Stones for themselves. Of course, Fang Xing wasnât strolling around a place like this just to get some low-quality Spirit Stones; although he was indeed searching for spirit mines, his intentions were to inhale all of its Qi in one breath once he found oneâŚ.
Since Qi was scattered around between the heavens and earth and only Spirit Stones were able to store Qi, cultivators were forced to cultivate using Spirit Stones during their practiceâdrawing in all of the ambient Qi out in the open was something unheard of. Only someone like Fang Xingâwho had a Nine-Turn Lucidity Pellet within himâwas able to make something like this possible and cultivate directly from spirit mines.
Regardless, finding a spirit mine wasnât a simple task. The spirit veins were in fact similar to naturally-occurring formations found between the heavens and earth, and so it required proficiency in formations to decipher the spiritual path. Not even the Book of Revelation was of much use here, so it was the golden crow who took center stage since he was much better at this than Fang Xing was.
After identifying the flows of the rivers and the paths of the mountain ranges using the theories of Yin and Yang, the two of them managed to come across a few rather messy spirit veins. High-quality spirit veins were very rare, and the few they did find were so low quality that only one or two low-grade Spirit Stones could be found in each.
Another one had only just recently formed and didnât have any Spirit Stones at all. An outcropping of red stone was embedded into a mountain face and cast a shadow like a dragon, as though it was waiting for the chance to break away and fly off into the sky at any moment. Several formation flags were placed around this stone in order to prevent the Qi from scattering about, and Fang Xing himself stood atop a black cloud at the front while muttering under his breath and focusing his mind.
A terrible whirlpool seemed to form inside his body as he breathed, and the illusion of the dragon hanging from the cliff began to dim before disappearing into nothingness, as though it had never been there in the first place. Fang Xing then sat cross-legged and began slowly digesting the enormous amount of Qi from the spirit veinârefining its impurities, concentrating it into his meridians, and then finally adding it to his cultivation level.
This kind of method was something ordinary cultivators could never imagine. If one had to describe it, it was the method of an immortal!
The golden crow was guarding Fang Xing close by, and the more he saw, the more dismay he felt. âMy god! This spirit vein is called the Dragonâs Ancestor. Legends say the very first spirit vein was formed by a dragon, which is why spirit veins are called dragonsâ veins in the ordinary realm. Although this is not a purple high-quality dragon vein and was just a thin low-quality vein, itâs still a spirit vein, yet it was engulfed by this bastard just like that? Isnât this the same as him just having swallowed a dragon? â His heart began to ache as he lamented, âIf only I had been given one of those golden pellets too!â
The golden crow picked up jade scroll and sensed it carefully, only for his gaze to instantly change. He looked towards Fang Xing with concern, uncertain as to whether he should call out to him or not. âOh no, things have gotten out of handâŚ.â
It naturally wasnât a good idea to remain completely unaware of what was going on in the outside world while searching these deep mountains for spirit veins, and so they had the Myriad Beasts Sectâs Ying Shihou keep an eye out for them. If any important information cropped up, heâd deliver news using a vermillion sparrowâa beast tamed by the Myriad Beasts Sect specifically for delivering messagesâwhich was precisely where the scroll in the golden crowâs hands had come from.
The golden crow had the Myriad Beasts Sectâs stolen Beast Kind Cauldron, which was also a Divine spirit tool used to control low-level beasts. Although the sect had originally held great enmity towards the crow for stealing it from them, Ying Shihou no longer dared to cause problems once the crow leveraged Fang Xingâs might. This Beast King Cauldron had become his as a matter of course, and its aura allowed the vermillion sparrow to find him even in these mountains.
The golden crowâs expression fell after rereading through the information on the jade scroll once more. He could tell this was going to be a big problem, and he even considered hiding the scroll away from Fang Xing but dismissed such an idea after some deep thought. After the burn of incense of time later, Fang Xing finished what he was doing and flew over, followed by the golden crow throwing the scroll over and saying, âThereâs trouble. To rescue or not is all up to you!â
Fang Xingâs brows creased slightly as he took the jade scroll and he began to immerse his spirit sense inside. At first he wasnât too concernedâthere wasnât much that could seriously be considered âtroubleâ for someone like himâbut after reading through the details, he was abruptly frozen stiff as though heâd been struck by lightningâŚ.
âHuangfu clan, you certainly intend to play with your little grandpa to the very endâŚ.â A look of viciousness flashed across Fang Xingâs face and a loud crack suddenly rang out in the air as the jade scroll turned into dust in his hand. The contents of the scroll had truly enraged him, and an intense flame of fury began to burn at the bottom of his heart like never before. He would have never imagined the Huangfu clan would use such a method to force him to show himselfâŚ.