The land of ancient Shu.
Fang Qing wore a blue robe, looking just like a young master from an aristocratic family out on a spring excursion.
“Body-tempering techniques, spiritual sense… difficult…”
He gazed up at the blazing sun in the sky, feeling that dazzling radiance, and suddenly sighed.
Over the past few days, he had inquired quite a bit about those true disciples of the Hundred Arts. He discovered that those who had cultivated spiritual sense had done so for all sorts of reasons: some possessed special cultivation methods, some had fortuitously swallowed some rare flower or spirit fruit, some had broken through naturally after facing a life-and-death crisis…
Some might even have fabricated lies to deceive people. The main point was that there was no fixed rule.
As for body-tempering techniques?
“In the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion, there are indeed quite a few body-forging arts… The most famous is the ‘Blackwater Dharma Body,’ known as ‘Blackwater billows, cleansing all beneath heaven’! Once cultivated to great completion, one can even rely on the fleshly body to withstand a second-rank demon beast head-on! But it’s far too expensive to exchange for… and cultivation requires many precious supplementary materials.”
When Fang Qing thought of what Zeng Shu of the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion had said that day, his expression still darkened. “Are poor ghosts unworthy of body tempering?”
“Forget it. Although I’m not poor, it’s true that wealth should not be flaunted…”
“There’s no need for me to get stuck on one path. The Dao arts here in ancient Shu are mysterious and wondrous, while the resources over at the Blue Sea Sect are abundant… I need to make reasonable use of the advantages of both worlds.”
His main purpose in coming this time was to earn a sum of contribution points, then pour them into alchemy and pay his way forward.
Aside from that, he also wanted to search for some auxiliary techniques, such as body-tempering formulas and the like…
…
Floating Boat Market.
The mountain peak towered high, and the clouds were like drifting boats.
“It’s already… been four years.”
Setting foot here once more, Fang Qing could not help but feel emotional.
Back then, he had still been a minor cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refining. And now? He had finally reached the early stage of Qi Ingestion! It seemed there was not much difference after all…
Because spiritual objects were scarce here in ancient Shu, many markets were not open all the time. There were even merchant caravans like Bluefall Market that traveled along the water veins.
Thus, if Fang Qing wanted to conduct large transactions, he had to chase after these markets.
“That old blind man… he really does have some skill in reading faces and determining fate. He has also traveled all over and seen much. I can go ask him about auxiliary techniques…”
Back then, using the alias Fang Shui, he had had his aptitude for immortal cultivation appraised here, and the old blind man had even given him a qi-gathering method.
Now that he had become a Qi Ingestion cultivator and had come to see the old blind man again, it rather resembled a kind of cycle.
“However, cultivating to the third level of Qi Ingestion in four years counts as normal. If he knew I advanced to the third level immediately after entering Qi Ingestion, that would be abnormal… So either I tell him that back then I directly bought a strand of ‘Earthspring Tempered True’ qi, or I use the Dao-Producing Pearl to conceal two levels of cultivation…”
After thinking it over, Fang Qing still chose to conceal his cultivation.
With the Dao-Producing Pearl in hand, the magic power he hid was practically seamless. Even if a Core Formation ancestor stood before him, they would not be able to see through it.
And if he said that his “Earthspring Tempered True” qi had been purchased, that would be showing off his wealth far too much.
Considering that he was looking for the old blind man to inquire about matters, it would naturally be better to use a familiar identity, so he did not disguise his appearance.
He walked into the market and had just been about to look for the old blind man when he suddenly heard a delighted voice: “Brother Fang Shui?”
“Hm?”
Fang Qing looked over in puzzlement and saw a valiant young man, sharp aura bursting from his body and giving others a faint sense of stinging pain. He was immediately startled. “Li Rulong… you… have entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion?”
This heroic young man was none other than the eldest of the Seven Swords of Shu Mountain—Li Rulong!
“That’s right… Back then, I was lucky enough to obtain some spiritual resources. After entering the market, I discovered that I possessed aptitude for immortal cultivation… Then, after some stumbling and struggling, I took in true qi and entered the Dao…”
As Li Rulong spoke of the past, his face showed quite a bit of emotion.
Behind him, Guo Tianhong was also present and gave a formal bow.
Seeing Fang Qing’s gaze, Li Rulong explained, “Seventh Sister and I both have aptitude for immortal cultivation. Sigh, it’s just a pity for Second Brother and Sixth Brother…”
Among the Seven Swords of Shu Mountain, the second, Liu Wansu, and the sixth, Zhu Zhenheng, could also be considered renowned young talents of Shu. But when it came to cultivation aptitude, it was entirely up to fate!
If one did not have the aptitude for cultivation, then one simply did not have it!
At least, the current Fang Qing could not find any method to make mortals develop aptitude out of nothing.
“Cultivation aptitude is indeed rare…”
Fang Qing sighed along with him, though inwardly he was filled with uncertainty and shock.
In his eyes, this Heroine Guo Tianhong likewise had spiritual light upon her. She had clearly entered the Dao through Qi Ingestion as well!
“Have I simply not come here for a few days, and true qi in ancient Shu has gone on a bargain sale? How has entering the Dao become so easy now?”
He chatted with them a little more and learned that Li Rulong had also had his fate read by the old blind man. What he cultivated was [Kang Metal]!
“[Kang Metal] is the vessel of blades and swords. No wonder when I see you, Fellow Daoist, I feel a sharp aura rushing toward me…”
Fang Qing smiled, his tone sincere, as his talent for persuasive speech activated.
“Haha… I was just lucky. After my fate was determined, I originally planned to spend a few years gathering qi, but unexpectedly, I found an immortal’s cave abode. Within it, I obtained a strand of ‘White Within the Sword.’ This qi happened to accord with [Kang Metal]. There was also a flying sword and a sword manual. I have always liked practicing the sword, and after fumbling about for a few years, I found the way in. Now I’m at the third level of Qi Ingestion. After accumulating some spiritual resources, I also bought Seventh Sister a portion of true qi…”
Li Rulong had already known Fang Qing to begin with, and now, without realizing it, he said a little too much. It was only when Guo Tianhong tugged at the corner of his robe that he abruptly stopped, then smiled apologetically.
“Third level of Qi Ingestion—and a sword cultivator?”
Fang Qing listened, practically speechless.
Although Li Rulong had spent four years cultivating to this level, rather than reaching it in one step like himself, their realms were the same.
“And… a sword cultivator!”
In the land of ancient Shu, metal and fire were the prominent orthodox lineages. Between heaven and earth, there were likewise more spiritual objects of metal virtue and fire virtue.
And in the eyes of cultivators, the most formidable among those who cultivated metal virtue were naturally “sword cultivators”!
With a flying sword in hand, they could practically break through all techniques. They were the foremost elegance of this world!
All sorts of famous swords had even been compiled into a Sword Register of the Ten Great Flying Swords Under Heaven, widely praised and passed down. They appeared in many of the biographies Fang Qing had read.
As for fire virtue? Its supreme cultivators were those who wielded exotic flames.
These exotic flames were spiritual flames of heaven and earth. Fire-virtue cultivators refined them into their bodies, and when unleashed in battle, they were likewise incomparably sharp, countering water, wood, and earth completely…
The cultivation world also had a ranking of heaven-and-earth spiritual flames. It was said that even the spiritual flames ranked at the very bottom were still first-rate spiritual objects, the sort ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators might never even see.
“This Li Rulong truly has dogshit luck… Wait, could he be a child of destiny like the protagonist in storybooks? Or perhaps a temporary son of fortune?”
If Fang Qing’s Plum Blossom Yi had not failed to even reach the entry level, he would have felt the urge to calculate Li Rulong’s fate right then.
“Although that flying sword of his definitely isn’t a famous sword, as long as it’s a flying sword, it is incomparably precious—far more valuable than several strands of true qi…”
Even Fang Qing had to admit that he felt an impulse to rob the man.
But very quickly, he calmed that impulse down. “I can’t do that… I still have some bottom line. Besides… I have the Dao-Producing Pearl in hand. As long as I advance steadily, my future prospects are boundless. If I get used to taking risks, I might make huge profits once or twice, but can I profit every time after ten or a hundred attempts? As long as I encounter one fatal danger, I’m finished… As long as I don’t gamble, I will never lose!”
Li Rulong had inadvertently revealed his own background, and his expression became somewhat uneasy. Coupled with his sworn younger sister signaling him from the side, he chatted with Fang Qing for a few more sentences before hurriedly taking his leave.
“No matter what, there’s trouble around this person… It’s best not to get mixed up with him too much.”
Fang Qing politely said goodbye, then turned into an herbal medicine shop.
“Welcome to our shop, Fellow Daoist. Might I ask what kind of spirit herb you wish to purchase?”
A cultivator dressed like a shop assistant immediately came forward.
Fang Qing sensed that although this person had some magic power, its quality was mixed and impure. He was probably someone who had entered the Dao by consuming true qi from the lower three grades.
“Do you have ‘Xuanbi Ginseng’?”
Fang Qing asked.
The so-called “Xuanbi Ginseng” was the local name for “Biqi Ginseng,” and Biqi Ginseng was the main ingredient for refining “Ginseng-Green Spirit Water.”
If the cost of obtaining it here was lower, he could drive down the material cost of the entire pill formula, then refine it in large quantities to gain alchemy experience and cultivation.
“This… depends on what Fellow Daoist has to exchange. Generally speaking, fifty catties of spirit grain can be exchanged for one ten-year-old Xuanbi Ginseng!”
The assistant hurriedly replied.
“So spirit rice is being used as the general equivalent? That’s acceptable.”
Fang Qing converted the price and knew that the price here was higher than at the Blue Sea Sect. However, he happened to have some things on hand that he did not want and could sell here.
He tossed out a bottle of pills. They were precisely the “Blood Pills” he had seized from that robbery cultivator last time. “How about these pills?”
“These are… pills that increase magic power?”
The assistant pulled out the stopper and sniffed. His eyes immediately lit up. He quickly glanced around, then lowered his voice. “If the guest exchanges them in the shop, you can get five Xuanbi Ginseng. If you exchange with me, you can get six…”
“Does this count as… a private transaction?”
Fang Qing laughed despite himself. Sure enough, people always had selfish motives; nowhere was exempt from such things.
And this kind of pill that increased magic power might have an even more immediate effect on cultivators whose magic power was mixed and impure.
“I don’t care. As long as you can get me more Xuanbi Ginseng, I’ll make the exchange.”
Fang Qing said meaningfully.
A moment later, he walked out of the herbal medicine shop and patted the storage pouch at his waist in satisfaction.
“Between these two worlds, there are quite a few spirit herbs that have different names but are actually the same…”
“From the looks of it, I can gather some pill formulas from this side and try refining them over there?”
“Or… for some pill formulas on Jasper Island whose raw materials have gone extinct, could I find the extinct main ingredients here?”
The more Fang Qing thought about it, the more he felt there was great potential for him.
Compared to the profits of trade between two worlds, even if Li Rulong had hit the jackpot and obtained a flying sword, it was nothing more than that!
…
Before the old blind man’s stall.
Fang Qing sat down. The old blind man opposite him was stunned for a moment, then immediately grinned, revealing a mouthful of broken yellow teeth. “Who would have thought… This old blind man has read faces and determined fates for so many years, and among the fates of immortal cultivation I’ve judged, there have been quite a few. Yet in the end, those who could truly enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion were few and far between. Today, however, I’ve managed to see two in a row…”
“Old sir… you’re not blind at all.”
Fang Qing sighed and placed a spirit fish that had been scraped and descaled onto the stall table.
“For us cultivators, recognizing people is a matter of looking at their ‘qi.’ Fellow Daoist, your body is filled with [Ji Water] magic power. In this old blind man’s eyes, that is much easier to distinguish than any beauty or ugliness…”
The old blind man’s two pitch-black eye sockets stared at Fang Qing as he spoke with implied meaning.