Three months later.
Cold Spring Peak.
"Rise!"
As Elder Tianding shouted softly, specks of blue light emerged from the depths of the Cold Spring at the very peak, dazzling like gemstones.
"Merge!"
His hand seal changed, and nine water dragons abruptly manifested at the bottom of the cold pool, spewing icy mist that froze the specks of blue light into fist-sized ice blocks which then floated to the surface.
"Foundation Establishment Pills... finally refined."
At the foot of the mountain, a group of mid-stage Qi Refinement disciples were utterly exhausted and emaciated, even though they could occasionally meditate to recover their vital energy.
Only Xu Wusu rallied his spirits and sent out a message talisman.
It didn't take long for the message talisman to return. After listening to a few words, a smile appeared on his face: "This time, Elder Tianding refined twenty genuine Foundation Establishment Pills..."
"Mm, compared to last time, Elder Tianding's pill refinement arts have improved considerably."
"This pill refinement session was truly exhausting. We should go back and rest well for a few days..."
The group of disciples took their leave one after another.
Fang Qing was likewise preparing to leave, but was stopped by Xu Wusu, who said a few words to him.
'This person... probably wants to win me over?'
Inside his cave dwelling, Fang Qing recalled his interactions with Xu Wusu and couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart:
'Is my pill refinement technique really that valuable?'
'Or is he an opponent of the Fuyunzi lineage?'
'Forget it, thinking about this is useless. Tomorrow I'll go to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and prepare metal and fire attribute talismans early on, plus various spiritual materials... that's what truly matters.'
'After reaching mid-stage Qi Refinement, my cultivation speed has slowed down again. I still need the aid of pills.'
The next day, Fang Qing summoned his Green Leaf Boat and first went to the nearest Pill Island's Pill Hall, accepting several tasks to refine Jade Radiance Spiritual Water.
This type of spiritual water was relatively suitable for early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators to consume. After reaching mid-stage Qi Refinement, he needed to consume the higher-grade first-order mid-grade Shenlu Spiritual Water.
The main ingredient of this spiritual water was Biqi Ginseng. Not only was the raw material more expensive, but the refinement technique was also more difficult. The current Fang Qing still couldn't challenge it.
Therefore, he could only first refine Jade Radiance Spiritual Water, then exchange it for contribution points, and then exchange those for Shenlu Spiritual Water, suffering an extra layer of exploitation for nothing.
'I'll endure it for this period. After I make a few more trips to Ancient Shu, I definitely need to buy large amounts of Biqi Ginseng and raise my proficiency in refining Shenlu Spiritual Water.'
Fang Qing made up his mind and came to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall on Myriad Treasures Island, where he saw a scene of widespread panic.
"Oh? It seems the sect's mandatory missions have been issued, and everyone is currently panic-buying life-preserving magical artifacts and spiritual pills and talismans?"
Fang Qing wandered among them with quite a bit of leisurely interest, even able to take advantage of the chaos to pick up some bargains.
Of course, calling them bargains wasn't really accurate. These immortal sect disciples were each craftier than the last. For items they couldn't see through, their asking prices grew higher and higher, their boasts wilder and wilder—they dared to claim anything was a Nascent Soul relic.
Fang Qing's bargain hunting was merely taking advantage of the price drops on several raw materials to start stocking up.
'In Ancient Shu, metal and fire are the prominent paths of the present age, so metal and fire attribute spiritual materials are more plentiful... of course, still not as plentiful as on Jade Island...'
'If I want to trade spiritual materials between the two realms, I should take earth, wood, and water attribute spiritual materials that exist in both realms and sell them there, exchanging them for metal and fire attribute materials to bring back... I can earn quite a bit on the price difference.'
'Of course, there are also high-value items. For example, Grand Solar Purple Qi—gathering a strand here might fetch a sky-high price over there! But I'm afraid I might obtain it only to lack the life to spend it... I also don't have a cultivation method for refining Grand Solar Purple Qi...'
Moreover, although Grand Solar Purple Qi was convenient to gather—requiring only facing east at dawn when the sun was about to rise but hadn't yet, gathering the great solar primal energy to merge with one's own—the complete gathering of a single strand required at least several years.
"Isn't this Junior Brother Fang Qing?"
Just as Fang Qing was strolling about and occasionally making purchases, a voice called out.
He turned around and saw Hua Lian.
This Hua Lian from Flying Fish Island was a native disciple of Myriad Treasures Island, holding a position in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall—quite a cushy job.
Furthermore, he knew many secret details about missions, handled people and situations very well, and had never lost contact with Fang Qing.
"Recently, I heard that Junior Brother Fang successfully advanced to become a first-order low-grade alchemist. I wonder if you came this time to purchase medicinal materials? I know a few stalls where the raw materials for Jade Radiance Spiritual Water are of the best quality and most reasonable price..."
Hua Lian wore a smile that made one feel as if bathed in the spring breeze.
"Many thanks, Senior Brother Hua. I also want to purchase some metal and fire attribute talismans for protection. Do you have any channels to recommend?"
Fang Qing didn't let this local snake off, stating his requirements.
"Metal and fire attribute talismans? Metal attribute is fine, but fire attribute talismans are naturally thirty percent weaker in the ocean, and when encountering water attribute cultivators, another thirty percent weaker... very few in our sect study them."
Hua Lian frowned and thought again: "I remember there is an inner sect disciple who happens to have mid-grade fire spiritual roots and a constitution suitable for drawing talismans, so he had no choice but to study this path. His stall is just not far from here. Because sales are somewhat stagnant, the prices are comparatively cheap."
"Many thanks, Senior Brother."
Cheap fire attribute talismans were exactly what Fang Qing wanted.
Although fire attribute talismans suffered setbacks in this Minor Expanse Sea, changing environments would make them very powerful.
He had quite a profound impression of that golden blade talisman that had shown such divine might last time.
"From what I see, Senior Brother's magical power is profound—I'm afraid you're about to break through to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement? In ten years' time, you might not be unable to compete for the True Disciple fighting competition."
Fang Qing chose his words to sound pleasant; after all, pleasantries cost nothing.
"The True Disciple great competition in ten years... I have no confidence at all... Rather, in twenty years, my cultivation should break through to the late stage of Qi Refinement, so perhaps I could try then."
Hua Lian knew his own limits and answered with a bitter smile.
"Aren't there still True Disciple positions for the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation?"
Fang Qing had asked what he most wanted to ask.
This Senior Brother Hua came from a Foundation Establishment immortal island and was also a disciple of Myriad Treasures Island—well-informed, perhaps with more intelligence?
"Hundred Arts disciples? I'm afraid this is even harder than combat..."
Hua Lian shook his head: "Whether it's formations, alchemy, or talisman drawing... all require thousands or hundreds of failures to improve. If one's family assets aren't thick, how many attempts can one make? Therefore, those who can devote themselves to the Hundred Arts must have the support of some force behind them... To put it bluntly, it's still the private reserve of those big shots. We outsiders should still compete in combat."
'The suppression is actually this severe? Even Hua Lian, a disciple from a Foundation Establishment family, feels his family can only compete for combat True Disciple positions?'
Fang Qing was startled and hurriedly asked for details.
"The Hundred Arts also have rankings. Can a spirit plant farmer be the same as an alchemist?" Hua Lian said with a cold laugh: "If one is a formation master, quasi-second-order is enough to pass evaluation. An alchemist needs second-order standards. A talisman craftsman at low second-order is somewhat risky... A spirit plant master? At least high second-order is needed to have a chance of passing the assessment... And the assessors are our sect's elders; the standards are in their hands. Unless one's skills overwhelmingly dominate the crowd without dispute, otherwise..."
"Speaking like this, for us disciples without any background or power, the only thing we can truly compete for are the ten spots in combat?"
Fang Qing muttered.
"Hehe... although there are also Foundation Establishment descendants of our sect who study combat arts, after all, when it comes to fighting with their lives on the line, they still fall a notch short of us..."
Hua Lian spoke casually: "We've arrived."
'This Senior Brother Hua is also a Foundation Establishment family disciple, so why does he have the temperament of a desperado? Truer than a true loose cultivator...'
Fang Qing silently complained in his heart, looking at a stall ahead.
The vendor was a red-eyebrowed youth. His stall displayed a dozen or so fire attribute talismans. From the lack of people around, business wasn't doing well.
"First-order low-grade Fireball Talisman, mid-grade Raging Flame Talisman, high-grade Fire Cloud Talisman?"
Fang Qing looked and was immediately somewhat moved.
"This Senior Brother Huo Tianhuo is an inner sect disciple with the Bone Talisman Spiritual Body. His talisman drawing skills are praised even by those Foundation Establishment elders."
Hua Lian introduced.
"Senior Brother Huo, this little brother wants to buy a few talismans."
Fang Qing hurriedly saluted, then began sweeping up the goods: "Give me one Fire Cloud Talisman, Raging Flame Talismans, and a few Fireball Talismans too..."
"A big customer..."
Senior Brother Huo's face showed delight: "I'll give you a cheaper price, Junior Brother..."
After chatting a few more sentences, Fang Qing began inquiring: "I wonder if Senior Brother has any second-order talismans for sale here?"
That broken place Ancient Shu was too dangerous. Without a powerful life-preserving trump card, he couldn't feel at ease.
"Second-order talismans?" Huo Tianhuo laughed in spite of himself: "This is equivalent to the power of a single strike from a Foundation Establishment elder... How powerful is a Foundation Establishment elder? A drop of magical power from them is equivalent to the entire magical power of a Qi Refinement perfection cultivator like us, so the power of a single strike is terrifyingly immense. Even if you had a second-order talisman, you, a fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, couldn't activate it even if your magical power was drained dry... If it were the late stage of Qi Refinement, you could perhaps try, but if you haven't cultivated Divine Sense, it's easy to harm others and yourself, or even die together..."
"Divine Sense? Isn't Divine Sense unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators?"
Fang Qing didn't mind showing his ignorance, as long as he could hear more useful information.
Moreover, he had the innate talent "Eloquence," and his sincere words made it easier for others to tell him information and intelligence.
"Divine Sense is naturally unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators, but some Qi Refinement cultivators with extraordinary talent or fortuitous encounters can similarly condense Divine Sense during the Qi Refinement stage... Otherwise, how did those True Disciples who have mastered second-order arts during the Qi Refinement stage come about?"
Huo Tianhuo smiled: "If one can cultivate Divine Sense during the Qi Refinement stage, the benefits are many. Not only can it assist in faster mastery of the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation, but it will also increase one's chances by ten or twenty percent when breaking through to Foundation Establishment... Unfortunately, this method is too difficult and has no fixed path. The sect generally doesn't speak of it to prevent most mediocre Qi Refinement disciples from uselessly depleting themselves."
'So... to prematurely master second-order arts, one must have Divine Sense?'
Fang Qing immediately gave up on the idea of buying second-order talismans. According to what Huo Tianhuo said, even if he had second-order talismans, Fang Qing couldn't afford the price at present.
'First-order high-grade talismans... should be enough.'
After walking out of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, Fang Qing let out a long breath: "Next... is continuous accumulation, striving to break through to the late stage of Qi Refinement, while simultaneously cultivating Divine Sense! And body refinement..."