A moment later.
Hua Lian steered the boat away.
As for the proposal to go fishing, not only did Fang Qing refuse, even Zha Zhu did not much want to go.
On the other hand, that Li Yusu seemed rather interested, and Hua Lian did not disdain him, taking him in directly.
……
One month later.
The sect’s grand fishing fleet returned. It was said their harvest was quite good, but the sect disciples had suffered casualties as well.
For Fang Qing, it simply meant Cold Spring Peak had gained another large-scale task of refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
Li Yusu also returned safely. It was said he had gotten along quite well with Hua Lian’s boatload of people and made no small gains, even arranging to go out to sea together again next time.
As for Fang Qing?
He continued taking on tasks, refining Jadeflower Spiritual Water, and then occasionally making an attempt at refining Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water—without exception, all ended in failure.
“Looks like… I’ll have to find an opportunity to leave the sect, then legitimize the large amount of Green-Qi Ginseng I obtained…”
Fang Qing pondered to himself.
As long as he left the sect, he could say he had been lucky enough to discover a predecessor’s cave abode and obtained a large quantity of spirit stones.
Then, if he lavishly purchased materials for Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water and spent them all to improve his alchemy, he would no longer need to fear others coveting anything.
Time flowed like water; the years sped by like a shuttle.
Before he knew it, a year had passed.
Cold Spring Peak.
“Combine!”
Fang Qing circulated the water of the spiritual spring, forming a vast vortex. Within it, countless traces of emerald spiritual light could faintly be seen, being separated and synthesized…
“Fall!”
A moment later, droplets of emerald spiritual water condensed in the spiritual spring area, forming a shallow layer.
“Rise!”
Fang Qing’s hand seals changed again. As his Ji Water magic power circulated, his water-control techniques reached an astonishing level, faintly controlling six vortexes at once and refining pills simultaneously.
“Collect!”
In the end, every drop of verdant “Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water” was gathered by Fang Qing’s pill-collecting technique and stored inside a green-skinned gourd.
“Whew… I finally succeeded once.”
He let out a long breath, opened the gourd, dripped a single drop into his mouth, and slowly tasted it. “Mm… slightly bitter. Authentic. The quality is just a little poor, but for the first batch, that’s understandable. From now on, I won’t need to buy those outrageously expensive supplementary spiritual pills from the sect…”
As an expert in refining Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water, he naturally knew the cost price of this set of ingredients. The Pill Hall was simply fleecing people.
And even then… some disciples still had to queue for it!
This was the domineering advantage of an alchemist!
‘The reason I succeeded, aside from accumulating a great deal of experience… is also thanks to cultivating the Horse-Head Vajra Protector Divine Art. After reaching initial mastery in this Esoteric Treasury Region technique, my physique and spirit have both risen rapidly… Though I’m still far from perfecting the first stage, my body refinement can be considered to have stepped into the first-tier low-grade level. I can rely on my physical body to exchange a few blows with early Qi Refining cultivators now… With a stronger spirit, my control over medicinal properties has improved, plus a good water-control art and a large amount of money thrown at it—finally, I succeeded once…’
Fang Qing shook the green-skinned gourd, smiling very happily. “After I finish taking this gourd of spiritual water, my magic power should be able to break through…”
His cultivation in the Breath-Ingestion Dao had been stuck at the third layer of Breath Ingestion for a year now. This time, he should be able to rely on the power of the medicine to break through in one go to the fourth layer of Breath Ingestion!
As for his Black Water magic power, perhaps he could try for the fifth layer of Qi Refining?
‘Sure enough, compared to bitterly relying on my own cultivation before, cultivating with pills is much faster…’
A great sigh of emotion arose in Fang Qing’s heart.
He returned to his cave abode. Before he had rested for long, he received a voice-transmission talisman.
“Oh? It’s actually him? It’s about time to lay the cards on the table, isn’t it?”
Fang Qing nodded and opened the gate of his cave abode. He saw a Qi Refining cultivator with half-black, half-white hair and a lean, refined appearance walk in. It was none other than Xu Wusu!
“Haha… Congratulations, Junior Brother, on successfully refining Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water.”
Xu Wusu smiled and cupped his hands. This matter had already spread throughout Cold Spring Peak, but for him to come immediately was clearly a sign that he had been paying attention.
“I was just lucky. During my last mission, I discovered a rogue cultivator’s cave abode and obtained a sum of spirit stones, which allowed me to buy large quantities of spiritual herbs and improve my craft.”
Fang Qing smiled faintly.
This so-called “rogue cultivator’s cave abode” was naturally the method he used to legitimize the profits from his trade between the two worlds.
And a mere amount of resources belonging to some Qi Refining cultivators would not attract much attention within the sect at all.
Only a few of Fang Qing’s friends repeatedly sighed over how good his luck was.
“This, too, is fate… If we cultivators want to become rich overnight, we have no choice but to go out and seek opportunities. But such opportunities are often accompanied by danger, far inferior to refining pills within the sect, or planting spiritual grain and raising fish for the sect…”
Xu Wusu likewise thought to himself that Fang Qing had stumbled into dogshit luck, while the smile on his face grew even wider. “However, Junior Brother, the inheritance left by that predecessor of yours should be nearly exhausted after purchasing the materials for Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water, yes? First-tier low-grade and mid-grade spiritual waters are one thing, but first-tier high-grade spiritual powders, or even spiritual pills… each set is exorbitantly expensive. Even I would feel heartache over a single failure.”
“Indeed… It’s hateful that I lack guidance from a renowned master.”
Fang Qing sighed.
There were quite a few alchemy disciples on Pill Island, but second-tier alchemists qualified to take disciples were extremely rare.
He had always felt that for that Li Yusu to have actually entered Fuyunzi’s tutelage, there had definitely been some behind-the-scenes manipulation!
“Entering the tutelage of a second-tier alchemy master would naturally be best. If that is not possible, you may also join our Five Dragons Society and exchange experiences with one another…”
Xu Wusu finally revealed his true aim. “I wonder if Junior Brother is willing?”
“Five Dragons Society? Could it be the Five Dragons Society founded by Senior Brother Wulongzi?”
Fang Qing looked slightly startled, while the relevant information swiftly surfaced in his mind.
Wulongzi, a disciple of Pill Island, studied under a second-tier alchemy master, and now already possessed cultivation at the ninth layer of Qi Refining!
Judging by his ambitions, he was surely aiming for true disciple status in the next decade—or even a Foundation Establishment Pill!
“Precisely!”
Xu Wusu took out an alchemy book. “This Five Dragons Pill Scripture was written by Senior Brother Wulongzi and later passed on to me… I feel that Junior Brother is more suited to it.”
“It seems Senior Brother Wulongzi is determined to compete for true disciple status? I wonder whether he intends to do so through combat or alchemy?”
Fang Qing let out a long breath and asked.
“Naturally, alchemy… With our combined strength, we are fully capable of helping Senior Brother Wulongzi’s alchemy skills advance by leaps and bounds. He can already refine first-tier high-grade spiritual pills now. If he improves further over the next ten years, he should be able to rise to quasi-second-tier, or even second-tier…”
Xu Wusu said, “Senior Brother Wulongzi has promised that once he establishes his foundation, he will certainly assist us in establishing ours…”
“……”
Fang Qing was speechless inwardly, but his expression was extremely solemn. “Senior Brother Wulongzi is actually so generous? We are all in the same sect, and with his reputation as guarantee, I naturally believe him.”
In truth, he saw through Wulongzi’s plan at a glance. It was nothing more than raising a large amount of spiritual resources to deepen his alchemy skills.
Whenever unity and sacrifice were emphasized… the people below were the ones paying the price!
‘However… I don’t care! After all, I may lack other things, but resources are not among them… Exchanging resources for the alchemy insights and guidance of a first-tier high-grade alchemist isn’t too much of a loss…’
Fang Qing accepted the Five Dragons Pill Scripture and then said, “I have heard that to advance to second-tier skill, one must possess divine sense… Could it be that Senior Brother Wulongzi has succeeded?”
“Not yet…”
At the mention of this, Xu Wusu’s expression turned somewhat ugly. “However, we searched through ancient formulas and found several ancient pill recipes suitable for Qi Refining cultivators to increase spiritual perception. We are currently gathering people to decipher and improve them. Although several of the main ingredients have already gone extinct, if we can find substitutes, even attaining a few tenths of their effect would be enough.”
“In that matter, this little brother is willing to contribute what little strength he has.”
Hearing this, Fang Qing’s eyes immediately lit up.
Possessing divine sense at the Qi Refining stage! This was likewise his pursuit!
Although he had the Horse-Head Vajra Protector Divine Art, it might not necessarily be reliable. Having one more option was always good.
For these ancient pill recipes, although their main ingredients had gone extinct, that was only the situation here in the Little Huan Sea.
Perhaps the more distant Eastern Sea cultivation world, or even the mainland, had the relevant spiritual plants. Unfortunately, the cost of transporting them over was not something Qi Refining cultivators could bear.
Or perhaps… he could find the vanished main ingredient in Ancient Shu!
“Haha, with Junior Brother Fang in my Five Dragons Society, it is like a tiger gaining wings.”
Xu Wusu laughed loudly.
“There is one more matter for which I would like to ask Senior Brother’s help.”
Fang Qing took a sip of mountain spring water and suddenly spoke.
“Oh? Go on…”
Although Xu Wusu felt Fang Qing had rather many matters, he still assumed a listening posture.
“After advancing to a first-tier mid-grade alchemist, I increasingly feel that I need a spiritual pool of my own in order to better grasp medicinal properties and water properties… Always changing spiritual springs is not ideal. I have been thinking of setting up a spiritual spring eye within my cave abode, but I cannot find a suitable geomancer or formation master…”
Fang Qing voiced his helplessness.
In reality, he simply wanted to find a more private place to refine pills, so that he would not be under everyone’s eyes every time.
For instance, this time, he had only just successfully refined Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water, yet everyone already knew about it, and then Xu Wusu came knocking.
This time was fine; it was merely an ordinary pill medicine like Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water.
But what if next time it was something even rarer?
“Mm… building your own spiritual spring? That cost won’t be small… First, it requires approval from the Pill Hall. After all, you need to draw in a water vein, which involves changes to the main water veins of this island… Aside from that, there are also the fees for inviting a formation master and a geomancer, as well as the cost of constructing the spiritual pool itself… Without over a hundred spirit stones, you won’t be able to get it done.”
Xu Wusu shook his head. “Everyone wants a private spiritual spring, but before becoming a first-tier high-grade alchemist, very few can build one.”
“As for spirit stones, I will find a way to gather them myself. I only ask Senior Brother to introduce me to a reliable geomancer…”
Fang Qing said.
In truth, he had long possessed the capital for this, but he could not get the Pill Hall’s approval handled. Without the necessary connections, there was a good chance it would be delayed for a very long time.
However, if he left it to the Five Dragons Society to operate, it would be possible. That Wulongzi was a first-tier high-grade alchemist and had been deeply rooted in the Pill Hall for many years; he could surely get the procedures done.
As for a geomancer and formation master, that was even more so. Fang Qing did not know a single one.
‘Even if I’m treated as a sucker and spend a bit more spirit stones, as long as I can get the matter done, it will still be worth it.’