“A spiritual object?”
Even though the Four Swords of Shu Mountain were wealthy men among mortals, they were dumbfounded when they heard this demand.
“May I ask what sort of item can be considered a spiritual object?”
Guo Tianhong stepped forward and gave a graceful bow. “We beg the Immortal Master to take pity on us and enlighten us somewhat…”
“A spiritual object is anything numinous and strange; it is not confined to any single form… This Floating Boat Market will remain open for another three days. Whether you can find one will depend on your own fortune. Go.”
The burly man seemed somewhat impatient and gave a light flick of his sleeve.
Whoosh!
A clear wind howled, and fallen leaves flew wildly.
By the time Li Rulong came back to his senses, he discovered that they had already arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Zhu Zhenheng had suffered the pain of losing an arm and a friend, and then obtained an immortal opportunity… With his emotions surging, only to gain it and lose it again, he nearly clutched his head and wept. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. “I beg the Immortal to show mercy, the Immortal to show mercy…”
“Alas…”
Li Rulong sighed and pulled Zhu Zhenheng up. “Thinking too much now is useless. We should go look for spiritual objects… century-old ginseng, lingzhi… anything of the sort can be tried.”
“And those Pu family mother and daughter—there’s definitely some in their hands,” Guo Tianhong said darkly.
“Seventh Sister!”
Li Rulong hurriedly shouted to stop her.
First, he did not want to repay kindness with enmity. Second, since they could produce an immortal opportunity token, the connections behind them were by no means ordinary. He could not let Seventh Sister bring down a great disaster upon herself.
What was more… it would be one thing to discuss such matters in private, but there was still an outsider present!
Fang Qing rubbed his nose. “I should also go look for spiritual objects. Everyone, the mountains are high and the rivers long; we shall meet again if fate allows.”
“We shall meet again if fate allows!”
Li Rulong cupped his fists and saw him off.
Only after Fang Qing’s figure had completely vanished did Liu Wansu say, “The fruit that man swallowed was certainly a spiritual object. I wonder if there are any more?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the several martial heroes shifted, before they sighed again. “His martial arts are too high…”
……
“Heh… As expected, for the sake of seeking immortality, even benefactors can be killed, and anything can be sold out. I wonder, in the end, whether brothers will turn against one another?”
In the distance, Fang Qing heard this, but paid it no mind.
He had only valued Li Rulong’s character, which was why he had appeared somewhat closer to him.
As for the other three sworn siblings, he truly did not think much of them.
“Three more days, is it?”
Fang Qing employed his movement technique and sped along the way.
Only after he had gone far from signs of human habitation did he find a cave, circulate his magic power, and form a hand seal.
A faint glow shone and landed on the wall, then quickly vanished.
This was a small trick known to all cultivators, used when setting up for seclusion. If someone else intruded, it would give a warning.
After finishing all this, he connected with the Daosheng Pearl and returned to Jade Island.
……
Three Flowers Fishing Village.
On the pier, a large number of fishing boats were busy at work. Many fishermen were drying nets and sorting their catch.
Just then, a green leaf boat descended from the sky and hovered in midair. Upon it stood a young man in blue robes, handsome and elegant, like one from among the immortals.
“Greetings, Immortal!”
“An Immortal Lord has come!”
The fishermen hurriedly knelt and paid their respects.
“Enough… Have there been any treasure fish recently?”
Fang Qing spoke directly.
“Reporting to the Immortal Lord, no one in our village has caught a treasure fish recently, but we did hear that someone in Three Mountains Fishing Village hooked an Autumn-Slaying Saberfish!”
A moment later, an old fisherman who looked like the village chief stepped forward and answered respectfully.
“Mm, not bad.”
Fang Qing asked for directions, tossed down a silver shell, and flew away on the green leaf boat.
The task he had accepted upon leaving the sect was to purchase treasure fish. For this, he had even been issued many gold and silver items.
Of course, this sort of half-demon fish was needed in large quantities each time. The work was extremely tedious, and there were not many contribution points as a reward, so very few disciples were willing to run such errands and delay their cultivation.
But for Fang Qing, it was just right for mixing public business with private gain.
He hurried to Three Mountains Fishing Village. The lucky fisherman had not yet sold the fish, nor had he eaten it.
Fang Qing was overjoyed at the sight and immediately threw down one hundred and twenty silver shells, buying this “Autumn-Slaying Saberfish.”
……
Floating Boat Market.
Beneath the archway, the burly man opened his eyes and saw Fang Qing again. “It’s you?!”
“Greetings, Immortal. I wonder if this fish may serve as a spiritual payment?”
Fang Qing displayed the Autumn-Slaying Saberfish in his hand. Of course, it was already a dead fish; even the fish brain had been cut away.
Only most of the fish’s silver-bright body remained, carrying a sharp aura, like a gleaming silver long saber.
“Oh? It is actually a [Zhen Water] spiritual object? That is rather rare… You may enter the market.”
Surprise appeared on the burly man’s face, and he nodded.
“What is a [Zhen Water] spiritual object?”
Fang Qing was somewhat curious.
“[Zhen Water] lies in the chen and si positions; water returns to the southeast, also known as [Great Sea Water].”
The burly man answered with one sentence, then waved his hand directly, clearly too lazy to say anything more.
“[Zhen Water]? [Great Sea Water]? So a [Zhen Water] spiritual object just means seafood? Why make it sound so mysterious? For style?”
Fang Qing mocked inwardly, but on the surface he still gave a respectful bow and entered Floating Boat Market carrying the Autumn-Slaying Saberfish.
This “Floating Boat Market” truly was not large. There were only a handful of scattered shops, and some people of various appearances and strange attire were setting up stalls.
After observing for a while, he discovered that most transactions were barter, and these cultivators mostly did not seem to have very high cultivation.
Fang Qing had seen great Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Blue Sea Sect. Although these cultivators gave him a sense of danger, they still seemed somewhat inferior compared to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“From the look of it… this is at the level of a Qi Refining trade fair over in the Blue Sea Sect. Not bad, not bad. Very suitable for me.”
His heart stirred, and he successively tried watching transactions or stepping forward to haggle.
After half an hour, he had gained some understanding of the price of the Autumn-Slaying Saberfish in his hand.
“It’s actually… rather high?!”
“In the Blue Sea Sect, this sort of half-demon fish would only catch the eye of early-stage Qi Refining cultivators…”
“Wait, the spiritual qi in this world seems somewhat thin, and spiritual objects are likewise rare? So there’s a premium?”
“But the Daoist arts are quite exquisite… Earlier, when that gatekeeper flicked his sleeve, there was the phenomenon of clear wind and falling leaves. I couldn’t understand it…”
With these thoughts in mind, Fang Qing finally arrived before a certain stall.
The stall was extremely simple, like a fortune-telling stand. A yellow banner hung from a pole, with the words “Spiritual Testing, Fortune-Telling” written on it.
Behind the stall sat an old blind man. The places where his eyes should have been were pitch black, making him look particularly frightening. In front of him was a dark yellow bone bowl.
“Old sir, greetings.”
Fang Qing sat down and gave a bow.
“Heh heh… It is rare to see a mortal come here. It seems this old blind man is meant to open for business today.”
The old blind man smiled, revealing a mouthful of ugly yellow teeth. “Just call me Old Blind. You want to cultivate immortality? Then first you must test your spirit and read your fate…”
“I wonder… what the cost would be? I only have this one [Zhen Water] spiritual object.”
Fang Qing placed the Autumn-Slaying Saberfish on the stall.
Although this was nothing to him, he naturally had to act as though he cherished it deeply.
The old blind man reached out and felt it, then nodded. “This spiritual payment is enough for me to calculate your fate and aptitude once… Any questions you have may also be asked of this old blind man. To be frank, in this Floating Boat Market, when it comes to reading faces and telling fortunes, no one surpasses Old Blind.”
Fang Qing neither agreed nor disagreed. After all, every seller praises his own wares.
The old blind man gave a cold laugh and pointed at his own eyes. “You don’t believe me? When Old Blind was young, I once wandered to the Western Extremity and entered the Hidden Treasury Domain. I lost this pair of eyes over there, but I also brought back this bone bowl magic artifact. It tests spirits and determines fate, and has never been inaccurate…”
“What is the Hidden Treasury Domain?”
Fang Qing did not understand and directly asked.
The old blind man was startled, then smiled bitterly. “The Hidden Treasury Domain lies west of ancient Shu. You only need to know that it is a place of great darkness and great terror…”
He paused, then continued, “Asking for your entire spiritual fish is somewhat much, but you must understand: you are only a mortal. Holding a spiritual object is like carrying gold through a bustling market. If you do not spend it all, Old Blind fears that the moment you leave this market, disaster will befall you!”
This reminder was indeed true. Fang Qing nodded. “Then let it be this price.”
“Very good. Place your hands above the spiritual bowl.”
The old blind man had Fang Qing stretch out both hands, then finally lifted the yellow bowl.
Gurgle, gurgle!
When Fang Qing looked again at the bone bowl, he only felt somewhat uncomfortable.
But with a movement of thought, gurgling sounds came from within the bone bowl. Water actually welled up from it, as if a tiny spring had appeared inside, constantly spurting forth.
Whoosh!
Aside from this, a gentle breeze also blew over, circling around the bone bowl.
“Mm. You are of the [Ji Water] fate. Your qi forms the leopard aspect… The tiger follows the wind, and the leopard follows the wind as well!”
The old blind man began to pronounce his fate. “[Ji Water] favors wind. It is the water of Meng Spring, and can also be Baotu Water, otherwise known as [Fountain Water]. One with this fate has the advantage of the tongue, signifying eloquence and skill in debate…”
“When a gentleman changes like a leopard, his markings become splendid… If you wish to nourish your fate, you must read more books and study literature, using literary qi to nurture your own cultivated air…”
As Fang Qing listened, his heart trembled greatly, and he thought again of Three Water Cove and the Fang family…
He steadied himself. “So… I have the aptitude to cultivate immortality?”
“Naturally you do. If you cultivate [Ji Water], supplemented by literary qi and literary style to nourish your fate, the two will complement each other beautifully… Aside from that, [Zhen Water], [Shen Water], and [Bi Water] cultivation methods are also possible. Overall, any water-virtue cultivation method will do… Of course, the prerequisite is to first swallow a draught of water-element True Qi to enter the Dao.”
The old blind man sighed. “True Qi is precious. A single spiritual object is far from enough… This old Daoist does have a few qi-gathering methods on hand that I can give you to offset the price of the spiritual fish. However, in the final step of gathering qi, a cultivator’s magic power is required to ‘merge the qi.’ That will depend entirely on your luck.”
When Fang Qing heard this, disappointment appeared on his face, but his heart stirred.
“I possess magic power. Perhaps I can complete the final step myself, without needing another cultivator to act?”
“This old blind man seems to be an honest person. I can ask him more about matters of the cultivation world.”
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Can I only cultivate water-virtue methods? And I do not know whether [Ji Water] is powerful or not?”
“Haha, among cultivators, what matters most is still one’s Dao attainment. If your realm is high, naturally nothing will stand in your way… However, there are indeed cycles of generation and restraint among the various great Daoist lineages. The Metal and Fire lineages are the manifest Daos of the present age. You need only avoid them…”
The old blind man laughed heartily.
“Fire restrains water?! That isn’t right, is it? Why are Metal and Fire the manifest Daos?”
Fang Qing’s eyes widened. This was obviously different from what he had learned in the Blue Sea Sect. It completely turned the heavenly order on its head.
“Do you not read the immortal calendar? [Niu Metal], [Wei Fire], [Kang Metal], [Yi Fire]… The twelve [Year Regents] alternate in turn and govern heaven and earth, all belonging to the Great Sun and the Metal and Fire lineages. They have produced mighty beings beyond imagination; therefore, the Metal and Fire lineages are the manifest Daos!” The old blind man’s voice carried a slight tremor.