Chapter 71: True Intentions
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
It was a peaceful night in Qingye City.
Lin family's mansion was located in the central of the city. After the incident of Song Zhong and the collapse of Zhou family, Lin Benchu and Lin Dayuan were successful and managed to hold a strong image for the family. They even redecorated their entrance door and added a pair of green lion statues right outside the door.
Fang Yuan was familiar with this place. Back when he was a child, he visited this place before with Master Wenxin.
At this point, Elder Han and a few disciples from the Spirit Returning Sect were seeking shelter here as well.
Fang Yuan waited till the right time before he changed into his night combat outfit. He then snuck into the Lin family's mansion and ignored the guards and the disciples from the Spirit Returning Sect.
Even though it was late into the night, a few rooms were still lit.
Fang Yuan randomly glanced at his surroundings and snuck into Minister Lin's study room.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
He jumped softly and reached the roof. He then lifted one of the green tiles from the roof and looked inside the room.
Minister Lin was rich all of a sudden. Although his study room was messy and the books were piled up at a corner, there were many expensive decorations and antiques placed around the room.
Also, there was another person standing right in front of Elder Lin.
"Lin Leiyue! She is here also?"
Fang Yuan wavered slightly.
Of course, he was a [Martial Artist (9th Gate)] and both the father and the daughter didn't notice him yet.
"What? You haven't make a breakthrough?"
Minister Lin listened to what his daughter said and he gave a worried face.
Even though he became rich overnight, he knew that if his daughter still did not manage to make a breakthrough in time, her position in the Spirit Returning Sect would not be stable.
She was representing the Lin family, and if she did lose her position, the consequences would be dire.
"Don't worry daughter….what exactly happened? With your talents….with your talents….."
Minister Lin wanted to add on but he knew nothing about the concept of her being a spiritual being. He could only keep walking around and then he waved his hand. "If you need anything, you can just tell me!"
Even though Minister Lin clearly understood that even with the help from the Spirit Returning Sect and Shi Yutong, Lin Leiyue was not able to make a breakthrough, what could he do about it if the Lin family became bankrupt from this in the end? However, he felt that he shouldn't mention this now and he gave a ferocious look.
"Father….there is no use…."
Lin Leiyue looked down at her dress and sighed.
"You…..sigh….."
Minister Lin pitied his daughter and said, "You do know that Fang Yuan has just become an expert in inner force and he is well known in Qingye City. The Zhou and Zhang families now are taking orders from him….."
Their disengagement was not a secret.
Obviously, it was like a tight slap in the face for the Lin family as Fang Yuan now managed to improve tremendously and become more well known.
Also, this happened when Lin Leiyue was still alive.
If she was dead or she was trapped in one of the gates for too long, Shi Yutong might lose confidence in her and by then, there would be no bright future for the Lin family.
If one managed to reach a very high level but fell from it, in the end, it would be a very big problem.
"Sigh….."
Minister Lin sighed and said, "If we had known this would happen, we should not have even…."
"What was supposed to happen has already happened. You should say no more, Father!"
Minister Lin didn't expect Lin Leiyue's reaction to be this big after he said his sentence.
"Leiyue…..is it that you….."
Minister Lin was surprised and seemed to have thought of something. He then shook his head and left the room silently.
Now, Lin Leiyue was the only person left in the room.
"Fang Yuan…..Fang Yuan….."
From the silence, Fang Yuan could hear a whisper from Lin Leiyue. She then sighed emotionally.
"..."
Fang Yuan unintentionally heard her secret and left after covering the tile back.
With Lin Leiyue's talents, it was indeed strange for her to be stuck at the Pain Gate for so long.
Only now then he realised he was one of the reasons why she had failed to break through.
"No wonder you came to inquire about me previously…."
Fang Yuan wasn't that narcissistic to a level that he would think Lin Leiyue still had feelings for him. Now, he could make a guess easily. "Was it because of her evil side? I didn't expect that I would affect her that much!"
During training, when one meets his or her evil side, there were only two solutions to this problem.
One could forcefully deal and remove her evil side, or one could…..
Upon thinking about the other solution, Fang Yuan was speechless and had a wonderful feeling about such happenings.
"Could this be her punishment to herself? Then this will be none of my business already..."
With his character, the opponent would not be able to deal with him in any way.
Fang Yuan could conclude that with his tremendous improvement, he would surpass Lin Leiyue and even Shi Yutong. This would also mean that Lin Leiyue would feel guilty of herself for her entire life for not being able to make that breakthrough.
Such punishment was crueler than taking her life away.
...
Fang Yuan couldn't be bothered with what Lin Leiyue was feeling right now.
From the start, he was already not concerned with her matters and he could easily not be bothered by her. He then continued to search for Elder Han.
'From my acupuncture, he should have just woken up!'
Fang Yuan waited silently and suddenly heard a laughter from the courtyard below him. He then knew he located Elder Han and sneaked there.
"With my skills now, there will be a chance of me being discovered only when Elder Han fully recovers!"
Fang Yuan bypassed a few whispers and came to a room. He then concentrated his magical energy between his eyebrows and focused it outwards.
He had learnt this trick from the scroll in the Blood Magic Technique. After he executed this trick, he could see clearly what was inside the room. The furniture were placed nicely in the room and there was an old man lying down on the bed. The old man got up fiercely and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Elder Han!"
A person came in anxiously and Fang Yuan could recognise that the person was Lu Zhisen.
"It is nothing…...I'm okay!"
Elder Han coughed out another mouthful of blood but he then felt better. "I'm hungry. Can I have a bowl of ginseng porridge…."
"Coming up!"
Lu Zhisen replied happily and asked, "You are better now, Elder Han?"
"I have recovered partially. This doctor Fang is indeed powerful. As compared to him, all the doctors back in our sect are useless!"
One could see that Elder Han's resentment for the doctors back in the sect was big. Elder Han then observed his surroundings and asked, "Are we back in the Lin family's mansion?"
"Yes, you have been asleep from the acupuncture till now. The doctor has prescribed you with medicine and reminded you to take a good rest. We will then go back to him after 7 days!"
"Hmm!"
Elder Han acknowledged and swallowed a spoonful of the porridge. He suddenly said, "Guan Feng, keep a lookout outside. I will need to speak to Elder Lu!"
"Yes, Elder Han!"
A voice from the outside acknowledged Elder Han's order and a few of the disciples from the Spirit Returning Sect then came to patrol the surroundings.
As such, to spy on them, one would either have to go head-on with the guards or find a way to sneak in.
Fang Yuan laughed and moved further away from the room. However, with the concentration of his magical energy, he was still able to hear the conversation inside the room clearly.
"With Guan Feng guarding outside, I feel much safer to speak to you…."
Elder Han nodded and his expression suddenly became gloomy. "How is Fang Yuan's…..skills? You have duelled with him before so you should know?"
Lu Zhisen was surprised by Elder Han's question and replied, "He is [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] and has not broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates…..I am ashamed that I couldn't survive through a few of his moves!"
"Hehe…. I see, a [Martial Artist (7th Gate)]. He is well known in Qinghe County but with what I have seen now…..Fang Yuan has not revealed his full power yet….."
Elder Han laughed and imagined a scene which Fang Yuan was charging right at him.
In fact, he had no intention to repel his attacks as he knew that he was injured badly and if Fang Yuan really had intentions to kill him, he would not be able to repel Fang Yuan's attack.
However, Fang Yuan had a secret technique and if he executed it, his skills would be on par with a [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]! This would be his true power.
"Did you just mention…..the Death….the Death Gate? That….is impossible. He is still so young! This is only possible if he had started training while he was in his mother's womb..."
Lu Zhisen's voice was trembling, which clearly showed that he was surprised by Fang Yuan's achievements.
He spoke halfway and realised that according to what the Lin family had learnt, Fang Yuan had only trained martial arts for a year!
"Do you understand my point? Even if the Lin family's intel on Fang Yuan was wrong, he must be extremely talented to achieve such level even if he had started training since young…..If the sect head was not busy, she would have taken this matter into her own hands….."
Elder Han closed his eyes and said, "You have known enough about him for now. I have duelled with him previously and I shall tell you more after I have recovered!"
"Yes, Elder Han!"
Lu Zhisen acknowledged and was worried.
"Haha….you thought I had done something funny to the Xuan Yin Heart Technique?"
Elder Han seemed to have seen through him and laughed. "I will still need his help to recover from my injuries. How could I do such thing and betray him at this point in time? What I gave him was indeed the original one!"
However, Elder Han did not mention that even though the technique he gave was original, through Shi Yutong's authentication, when this technique was trained to a high level, there would be side effects. The side effects include a change in personality and the condition of the body and many more.
Such changes were gradual and would not be discovered if one did not train the technique to a high level.
But if one were to do so, it would be impossible to revert.
'Lin Leiyue is the next successor to the throne of the sect head. Fang Yuan can be persuaded to join their side and in future, it will be sufficient to just reward him. How will he then be able to improve further and become a threat to the new successor?'
'Furthermore…...the presence of Fang Yuan is just a big obstacle to Lin Leiyue. Lin Leiyue still haven't realised that I have been advised by the sect head before about this…..'
'After my recovery, I shall help to solve Lin Leiyue's problems!'
'As for Fang Yuan, I will need to know all his secrets and if I am successful, maybe I can reward him and have him by my side. If I am not…...hehe…..'
...
Under the flame, Lu Zhisen saw Elder Han's dull face darken. He instantly felt a cold stream rush down his spine and he shuddered.
Chapter 72: Love Birds
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Anything can happen, and no one can guess what others are thinking..."
With his robes fluttering, Fang Yuan ran out of the Lin Mansion and heaved a long sigh.
Even though he did not listen to Elder Han's entire plan, but from his tone and attitude, it seemed that the Spirit Returning Sect was guarding against Fang Yuan, and was trying to restrict his movements.
Of course, Fang Yuan had already guessed this. Furthermore, he was already suspicious of Elder Han, and as of now, it seemed like a challenge as to whose plan would be the better one. This was not definitely a bad thing for Fang Yuan.
"The powers of Spirit Returning Sect are now reduced, and coincidentally, Leiyang County is in a mess right now. Shi Yutong should be occupied trying to deal with the situation in Shaoyang City... This is the best opportunity for me!"
Within the entire Spirit Returning Sect, Elder Yan and Elder Han's inner powers were the strongest and both were martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates. However, both of them were injured now.
"It seems... Elden Han's recovery would have to be delayed again..."
Fang Yuan mulled, his eyes deep in thought.
On their side was a Wu Zong and a spiritual knight, and it would be unwise to go head to head.
Of course, since Elder Han would still need Fang Yuan to heal him, while he was recovering Fang Yuan would still be safe.
"Half a year... Hehe..."
Fang Yuan shook his head.
With his current progress, who would know how much he could achieve in half a year?
"From how Elder Han looked just now, it seems that there is no problem with the Xuan Yin Heart Technique, but there might be repercussions in the future... Heh Heh... Spirit Returning Sect? Spirit Returning Sect!"
Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed and a mysterious light glowed from them.
...
After returning to the secluded valley, Fang Yuan settled down. His daily routine included training with the Yin Yang Jade, farming in his spiritual farm, drinking the spiritual tea, consuming the spiritual rice, and occasionally would send Zhou Wenwu out to bring back news to keep himself updated of the outside world.
The Flame Jade Rice was re-planted by him many times, and it seemed different from the usual Vermilion Jade Rice, as it required a different method of growing.
"The good thing is that the Flame Jade Rice evolved from the Vermilion Jade Rice. I could follow this lead, and maybe it would be recorded in the book Master left behind..."
In the field of botany, Fang Yuan was undoubtedly the expert.
He slowly placed a few ruby stones around the seedlings, and nourished it with spiritual fertilizer. Fang Yuan took a step back and was relieved as he noticed the Flame Jade Rice grew a little.
"Flower Fox Ferret, you will be in charge of protecting it from now on, do you understand?"
Fang Yuan stroked its head, as though he was instructing him, and gazed into the sky.
As the sun set, the crimson sun rays filled the secluded valley, making everything appear orange.
"Today is the 6th day. Elder Han will return tomorrow to beg me to heal him..."
Fang Yuan had a cunning look, and suddenly a shriek was heard.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
A strong gust of wind came as the Iron-tailed Black Eagle landed, with its back facing Fang Yuan.
"Good job!"
He chuckled, climbed onto the back of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, hugged its neck and steadied himself.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Fang Yuan lifted off together with the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, and as the wind howled against his face, he could not open his eyes.
Once he got used to the wind, he peered open his eyes and realised that he was high above the ground!
In the fluffy white clouds, a black silhouette flashed past. It took aim at a direction and flew towards it like an arrow shot at a target board!
"This is... The feeling of flight?"
Fang Yuan looked down, and through the thin clouds, he could see the entire Qingye City, as though it was a sandcastle, and the people were like ants.
From a different angle, the feeling was entirely different.
This view made him feel like he was a God!
"One day... I will become like this! I must reach this level!"
Fang Yuan tighten his grip and was determined.
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle was quick. In a few moments, it had already flown past Qingye City.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
As the sun fully set, the moon rose and a large black shadow landed just outside a city.
Fang Yuan looked at the large city and felt that it was a pity. "Oh, Qinghe County... The previous time I took so much effort just to come here, but this time it was effortless to reach here on the back of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle. Uncomparable!"
That's right. Qinghe County, or rather, the headquarters of Spirit Returning Sect, was his target!
Fang Yuan wasn't a person who would not retaliate. Since the Spirit Returning Sect had plotted against him, he wouldn't mind creating trouble and confusion for the sect.
And in his plan, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle played a big part.
"If we succeed, we can return to the secluded valley tomorrow to prove that we were not here... If my prediction is incorrect and if Shi Yutong did set up ambushes around the Sect, I can still escape with the Iron-tailed Black Eagle!"
Fang Yuan stroked its feathers and fed it a bamboo fruit. "Wait here, and hear out for my signal!"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The black eagle nodded its head and assured Fang Yuan.
'I have finally tamed this beast!'
The truth was that only this time after breaking through the Yin Gate and defeating the Iron-tailed Black Eagle would the eagle allow him to ride him and fly with him!
Before that, the black eagle was still proud of itself and did not really allowed Fang Yuan to touch it.
If not for that, Fang Yuan would have brought it along for his previous journey to Lieyang County.
"It really boils down to fate and skill to tame a spiritual beast!"
He knew that luck played a part too for him to tame this black eagle.
Firstly, he was lucky to have the Flower Fox Ferret to allow him to communicate with the black eagle. Otherwise, both of them could never have communicated.
Afterwards, he was lucky to have the bamboo fruit, which was exactly what the black eagle wanted.
Furthermore, with these two factors, the black eagle would still not listen to him, until he proved his worth by overpowering both spiritual beasts.
All these factors had to exist before this was possible.
Seeing how the Sect controlled the county, and even if Shi Yutong was powerful, no one knew if she did tame any spiritual beast on her own.
...
The Spirit Returning Sect was a big sect, and with its headquarters here it could rule over Qinghe County.
Fang Yuan changed to a darker clothing, wore a mask, hid from the disciples on patrol and entered the sect.
He was now a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates and could have his own way in Qinghe County. How would the disciples be of any match against him?
Furthermore, even if he was discovered, any Elder who came would also be no match for him.
"Ghosts..."
Fang Yuan was like a headless housefly, and even almost triggered a few traps. He realised the biggest enemy in the entire headquarters was the complicated arrangement of the interior.
"Is it better for me to fight my way in, or would it be better to burn this entire place down?"
Fang Yuan did not want to resign to fate. "If this is so, I will only hurt the surface, there won't be any pain!"
The entire Sect was huge, and based on his strength alone, even if he was a martial artist of 4 Heavenly Gates, he could only do so much damage, unless his life was in danger!
"I'll grab the tongue first!"
He took a few steps forward, entered a large courtyard; it was like a small garden.
The night was peaceful and a few fireflies danced around.
"Eh?"
Fang Yuan exerted his magical energy like a web, and suddenly, his expression changed and he smiled, as he approached a corner.
"Brother Tian!"
A woman's voice was heard. "I've missed you!"
"Sister Ling, it was the same for me... The sect's rules were strict, how would I dare to enter your bedroom? Luckily, the Sect is undergoing a big change now with a lack of manpower, so they chose me as the law enforcer. This was why I had the chance to visit you..."
A deep voice was heard, and it was a familiar one. "Sister Ling, I've missed you so dearly... One day of not seeing you felt like 3 seasons..."
"Ew..."
Fang Yuan felt like vomiting as he heard it, and jumped out. "Ha! Who would've known that I would encounter two lovebirds here!"
"Who's this?"
The couple who were sitting in the pavilion were shocked. The male disciple, without thinking, struck his palm out at Fang Yuan.
"For someone who has yet to attain inner force, you dare to challenge me?"
Fang Yuan tried to cover himself up. He had his voice deeper, and with a flick of his finger, a few stones with the strength of inner force flew towards the disciple. As he was struck, he spat out blood and fell to the ground, bringing the female disciple with him.
"Who are you exactly?"
The male disciple looked at the man in black with shock.
He was after all a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)], and was one of the leading ones among his fellow disciples, and yet he was so easily defeated over here. His opponent was indeed strong, and even his master might not be able to match up to...
"Alright... Both of you. Do you want to live or die?"
Fang Yuan tried to drag time.
After all, since this person was the law enforcer, he could take advantage of him and aid Fang Yuan in his mission. This place was a dead corner and it would take a while before anyone would come by here.
"Live!"
These two disciples were not hard to deal with, and after witnessing Fang Yuan's skill, they had no other choice.
"Alright, I have a few things to ask. If you can answer me truthfully, I will leave and will not harm you two. Otherwise... Hehe..."
Fang Yuan looked at the female disciple. She was wearing a pink dress, and her skin was white as snow. She had a small mole at the corner of her mouth and was rather pretty.
"Let Sister Ling go, and just take me!"
The young man exclaimed.
"Hm... I shall ask now. Your foundation seems good, so you should have gotten the true teachings of the Sect, and practised the Spirit Returning Heart Manual, right?
Fang Yuan's eyes glittered.
"You want to secretly learn our Sect's inner power technique?"
The young man was shocked, but at that moment, Fang Yuan struck Sister Ling and made her faint. He smiled and said, "After you have answered me, I will awaken her, and ask her the same question, and if there is any difference, hehe..."
At that moment, the young man broke into cold sweat.
Chapter 74: Concealment
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
It was dawn.
Elder Han and Lu Zhisen came to the secluded valley and saw Doctor Fang who was dressed in white robes.
"How are you feeling, Elder Han?"
Fang Yuan asked gently, his actions were calm like the spring breeze; no one could associate him with the murderer and arsonist in the Spirit Returning Sect the night before.
"Fortunate to have been healed by Doctor Fang, I am recovering well!"
Elder Han smiled, and the precautionary attitude he had before was gone.
Fang Yuan had other thoughts of his own. If Elder Han knew that he was the one behind all that happened in the Spirit Returning Sect the night before, he wasn't sure if he would be as calm as he was right now.
Of course, he did not know what happened and had to act like it.
After all, even a Wu Zong martial artist would not be able to traverse from Qingye City to the Spirit Returning Sect and back in a night, not to mention accomplish so many things- unless he had a flying spiritual beast.
"The previous time I have undergone the Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing, I slept until midnight and was a little worried..."
As Elder Han mentioned it, he took notice of Fang Yuan's expression.
"Keke..."
What kind of person was Fang Yuan? He did not twitch a muscle, and explained, "This was because your injury was too serious, and I would require the body to enter a deep sleep for it to slowly recover. It is akin to learning martial arts the slow way, the same idea... I believe Elder Han knows this better than me!"
"That's right!"
Elder Han froze, then slowly nodded his head.
He did not like the experience of fainting and letting someone else have full control over his body.
However, if he wanted to recover, he had to listen to this doctor and did not have another choice.
"Mm, I'll leave it in your hands, Doctor!"
He gulped his medicinal soup, stripped and laid on the bed.
"Mm!"
Fang Yuan took out his golden needle, pierced several acupoints in quick succession, and Elder Han subconsciously fell into deep sleep.
"I hate distractions while I am doing my thing..."
Fang Yuan said, without even turning his head.
"Ah... I'm sorry! I will leave now!"
Lu Zhisen scratched his head, chuckled and left the room.
Even though this was not an instruction from Elder Han, he had no other choice but to do so as Fang Yuan had requested for it.
...
In the room, Fang Yuan waved his needle around. He was not attempting to heal Elder Han, but rather, to seal and experiment on him.
'A martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates has a very different circulatory system, especially its ability to fuse and form a miniature elemental force in a Martial Artist (11th Gate)...'
Fang Yuan placed his right palm on Elder Han's abdomen, focused his magical energy through his Mind Palace and reached into the depths of his elemental energy.
'Even though it is just a miniature elemental energy, it is still the fusion of Yin and Yang. Its strength comes from the Earth and Heavens and should not be belittled. Be it yesterday's Lady Yan, or today's Elder Han, if not for their serious injuries, I would be no match for them...'
After testing it out, he had a deeper understanding of elemental energy.
'Elder Han's seeds of his elemental force seems to be a little weaker than that of Lady Yan's, but it's just nice for me...'
After a few rounds of experimenting, Fang Yuan stopped, looked at the helpless Elder Han, and his thought ran wild. 'Both Elder Yan and Elder Han are dealt with. Could they call the Heavenly Gods to help them? I'm not sure if that's enough, why not add in a Shi Yutong...'
Just last night, he lured Lady Yan out of the city, and with the help of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, attacked her. It was a big loss for the Sect, and even Lady Yan was captured.
She was a highly skilled martial artist within the Earth Gate, and what Fang Yuan wanted to study was her own miniature elemental force in her diaphragm, which was why he spared her life. However, to her, this would not be a good thing.
'Hmm... 2 test subjects, so now I can compare them. I would run some small tests and keep a daily log for Elder Han, and as for Lady Yan, I would do the more destructive research on her, that's right!'
Fang Yuan was pleased, and in his eyes, Elder Han was merely a lab rat.
...
The sun rose.
Unknowingly, a day has passed.
Lu Zhisen was flustered. "Why did he take so long? It wasn't this long the previous time..."
He looked at the secluded valley and could tell that there was something secretive about it. Looking at the Straw Pavilion, he did not dare to take a step forward, and his mind started to run wild. "If anything happens to Elder Han, what would I do?"
Anxious, he became increasingly nervous.
Just as he was about to break the rule and enter the hut, the door opened and Fang Yuan appeared.
"What are you trying to do?"
He realised that Lu Zhisen had the posture as though he was about to charge in, and casually asked.
"Haha... Haha... Nothing much! I just wanted to check on your progress, and checking if you require any of my assistance..."
Lu Zhisen scratched his head and looked earnest.
"It's fine. Bring him back, and return in half a month's time!"
Fang Yuan waved, stood at the side and revealed a pathway.
"Half a month? Didn't you say 7 days the previous time?"
Lu Zhisen enquired.
"What is it? Any objections?"
Fang Yuan stared at him.
Facing the doctor, Lu Zhisen was embarrassed. He was no match for Fang Yuan and could only silently carry Elder Han away, as though he was escaping.
'Seeing his expression, it seems that he is worried that I might harm Elder Han... In fact, he guessed it..."
Fang Yuan witnessed them leaving, touched his chin and smiled.
After they returned, they would get the news of the chaos in Spirit Returning Sect, and would no longer have the effort to guard against him anymore.
...
"Iron-tailed Black Eagle, let's go!"
Back to the secluded valley, Fang Yuan rode the black eagle to a mountain cave.
As someone who had foresight, he had done preparations.
This mountain cave was halfway to the peak of the mountain and was Master Wenxin's temporary abode when he came here to pluck mountain herbs. There was even a water vat and a few dry rations. The location was very good and the cave was rather hidden.
Once Fang Yuan become influential enough, he would tidy this place up as his second base.
And as for the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, it originally had to travel long distances to reach the secluded valley, but now, the journey was just the bat of an eyelid.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Accompanying the bird's chirping, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle landed on the ground, and Fang Yuan leapt onto it.
Removing the vegetation cover, a mountain cave was revealed. It was formed naturally and seemed like the nest of a wild animal; something was different as he approached the cave.
The ground was flat and dry; there was no moss or weeds growing on the rocks. It was barren and was even a little reflective.
Fang Yuan lit a fire torch, appeared emotionless and walked to the end of the cave; a scene appeared.
On the ground was a layer of dried grass, and surrounding it a large water vat, a few dry rations hidden under a few rocks, as though one was afraid that other animals might eat it. The entire place seemed worn-down, but to a person trapped in the mountains, hungry and thirsty, this was not a bad survival shelter.
"Lady Yan! What do you find of this place? Oh... I have forgotten that you are still asleep..."
At the end of the cave, there was a little crack and it was pitch-dark. One could squeeze through the crack, walk a few steps forward and arrive at a large hole in the floor.
On an emerald rock, Lady Yan's silhouette appeared, albeit drowsy and pale; it was obvious that she was ill.
Fang Yuan took out a pill, forced it down her, and took out his golden needle to perform acupoint piercing on her forehead.
"Wu..."
After a short while, Lady Yan sighed and opened her eyes.
"You are... The big thief just now?!"
She sounded shocked as she saw Fang Yuan.
After all, no one could associate the evil and strong 4 Heavenly Gate martial artist last night to the young man in front of her.
"Indeed, it is me!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head and did not deny it. He immediately noticed Lady Yan's look of despair.
"Mm, you are quite smart. You know that once I've shown you my face I will not allow you to leave this place..."
"A pity... Looking at the state you are in, it would be hard for you not to die!"
In order to hold this Earth Gate martial artist in captivity, Fang Yuan spent a lot of effort. He first sealed her inner force, and dislocated all her joints, in case she used her underhand means to escape. In this way, even if she was Wu Zong it would be hard for her to escape.
"Good move! Good move!"
Lady Yan was extremely experienced in the martial arts world and could guess her own predicament. "What feud does my Sect have with you? To deserve such treatment?"
"Revenge?"
Fang Yuan touched his chin. "There might be a feud. My name is Fang Yuan, does it ring a bell?"
"Fang Yuan? Fang Yuan!"
Lady Yan was suspicious of him and glared into his eyes. "It's you! How is this possible?"
She knew of Lin Leiyue's incident and was also aware that the young man from Qingye City was rather capable as he could subdue Song Zhong.
However, Song Zhong was only a Martial Artist (7th Gate)!
And Fang Yuan now? Obviously a martial artist of the 4 Heavenly Gates! And the large spiritual eagle too! Against both of them, even with the help of the 2 other Elders, they could put up a fight.
Lady Yan felt that even if she recovered and teamed up with the other 2 Elders, they would still be no match to Fang Yuan and his eagle!
He seemed younger than 20 years old?
With his potential, he wasn't just gifted anymore; he was a mutant!
"Master Fang... Regarding what happened that day, I don't want to mention it anymore. I only want to know if there is any chance of you reconciling with the Spirit Returning Sect."
Lady Yan struggled to talk, and her words were filled with hope.
Being at odds against a talented martial artist of limitless potential, she could see the downfall of the Spirit Returning Sect and therefore attempted to reconcile them, regardless of what conditions she might have to accept.
"No hope!"
Fang Yuan shook his head. "I guess you don't know the entire story?"
At this point, Lady Yan lost all hope…...
Chapter 75: Breakthrough
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Elemental force is the force of heaven and earth. When one activates his elemental force, he will be able to start afresh. This is the essence of strength and it changes unpredictably. It also acts as a solid foundation to build up to higher levels….."
Through his thorough research, Fang Yuan realised that the combination of Yin and Yang could produce the 'Miniature Elemental Force', which was unbelievably powerful.
Such a discovery shocked and overwhelmed him.
Furthermore, the 'Miniature Elemental Force' was able to surprise him even though it was way inferior as compared to the real elemental force.
"With my current foundations, it is impossible for me to master Wu Zong with my elemental force!"
"But it is possible for me to combine the Yin and Yang to form the Miniature Elemental Force to make a breakthrough!"
Back in the secluded valley.
Fang Yuan sat on a green rock while carrying the Yin Yang Jade and he appeared relaxed.
"Ha!"
His 9th Gate Yin's inner force kept flowing out like a river and flowed into the Yin Yang Jade. A clear sound was heard.
"Kacha!"
The Yin Yang Jade shook and its inner part vibrated from the shock. The shock was subsequently absorbed.
With such a great infusion of Yin, the balance was tipped and caused the swirling in the Yin Yang Jade to be destroyed.
"Now…...explode!"
Fang Yuan opened his eyes widely.
"Kacha! Kacha!"
The swirl which combined both Yin and Yang suddenly exploded and the Yang kept expanding and compressing. Gradually, a new type of energy was formed.
The Yin Yang Jade was unique and tough, and Fang Yuan wanted to make use of these two advantages to compress the combined Yin and Yang into a single entity!
With the strong fusion from his inner force, the exploded swirl was compressed into a small dot. The dot solidified.
"Ha! Liquify the combination of Yin and Yang!"
Under the force of fusion by Fang Yuan, cracks formed on the surface of the Yin Yang Jade and the cracks were spreading throughout the entire piece like a spider web.
"Whiz!"
A constant swirling noise was heard from the Yin Yang Jade.
'Fortunately, I was using the Yin Yang Jade. If I was using my Dantian, it could have already been exploded."
Yin Yang Jade was unique and could accommodate both Yin and Yang. It was the best choice to use it to fuse both Yin and Yang into one.
If he were to perform the compression in his Dantian, he would have to worry about the consequences.
Of course, even if he used the Yin Yang Jade and failed, he would still be injured, but his injuries would be minimal.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
He concentrated his magical energy into the Yin Yang Jade and observed the movements made by both Yin and Yang.
With the concentration, the Yin and Yang inside the jade were quickly fused and it became more solidified than before. It gave out a red and black colour and there seemed to be a slight disturbance in it.
"Kacha!"
After a while, a crisp sound was heard.
Even though it sounded soft, Fang Yuan thought it sounded as if a silver bottle was broke through by a liquid.
"Bang!"
Inside the Yin Yang Jade, a big amount of Yin and Yang was compressed into a dot. Finally, after a huge amount of compression, the dot started to fuse.
A new form of energy which was green in colour was formed through the magical energy. The energy looked as if it was in a liquid form and was strong. It managed to absorb both Yin and Yang into one form and Fang Yuan' inner force could feel some resistance from this new form of energy.
"Good!"
He opened his eyes widely and his inner force from his diaphragm went into the jade and fused constantly.
This Miniature Elemental Force was formed from his combination of Yin and Yang. Currently, the Miniature Elemental Force also absorbed a huge amount of his inner force. At the start, there was some resistance. As time passed, the level of resistance lowered.
Fang Yuan's expression was very serious. He used a bit of his inner force and allowed the Miniature Elemental Force to be transferred from the Yin Yang Jade to his arms.
"Woo!"
He frowned as he felt as if his tendons had been cut.
"The force is indeed powerful…..If my condition of the body was not as strong and my tendons were not as tough, I would be feeling more than just pain now."
Fang Yuan thought about this silently.
This was perfectly normal as compared to the inner force from the 9th gate, the current Miniature Elemental Force gave a different feeling!
Such situation was similar to when a small river meets the ocean and become overwhelmed by the ocean.
Of course, Fang Yuan had already expected this to happen. Since he was able to hold on further still, he immediately used this new form of energy to fuse the remaining.
...…..
A period of time passed.
A white shadow appeared and it was the Flower Fox Ferret. It was shocked when it saw Fang Yuan.
After all, Fang Yuan's condition did not look well from the outside.
There was white smoke coming out from his head and his skin colour became blood red.
"Kacha! Kacha!"
As the Flower Fox Ferret grew more worried, two clear sounds came from Fang Yuan.
He opened his eyes and became composed.
"I have completed!"
Fang Yuan was satisfied as he could feel a constant flow of inner force around his body.
"Bang!"
At that moment, the Yin Yang Jade which he was carrying in his hands became into a pile of white ash.
Fang Yuan remained silent upon seeing this.
This unique treasure was not able to endure his doings and became a pile of ash.
"Even though this jade did not have Yin and Yang, it was still a unique treasure….To other sects, this treasure would probably mean nothing to them as they didn't know about this trick, but it was not worth for the jade to..."
After all, one could use the Yin Yang Jade to make tremendous progress but it would still not be as fast as Fang Yuan's. Plus, the jade would not be destroyed when used in training.
Perhaps there could another chance in the near future to use it again for such purpose.
Even though he was reckless, he managed to exchange this piece of jade for progression. From the sect's perspective, this exchange would not be worth it, but to Fang Yuan, it was.
Fang Yuan clapped his hands and went to a peony tree while ignoring the Flower Fox Ferret's stare.
His eyes focused and he transferred his inner force to his fingers and then to a nearby plant.
"Whiz!"
There was a light sound in the air as the peony tree trembled a little. Its leaves gradually fell.
In actual fact, Fang Yuan's fingers were still a distance away from the peony tree.
"Wu Zong allows one to release his elemental force to the surroundings and it is magical! I have not achieved Wu Zong yet but with the Miniature Elemental Force, I am able to achieve a slight part of the skill….."
Next, Fang Yuan's limbs moved without his control and he shook his head. "I have gained too much energy and my physical and mental body have not gotten used to it..."
He looked at his stats window:
"Name: Fang Yuan
Essence: 8.0
Spirit: 7.9
Magic: 4.0
Age: 19
Cultivation: [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]
Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5), [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 11)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"
"[Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 11)]; At this stage, one will be difficult to be dealt with as one will not be injured easily with the concentration of one's elemental force!"
"Energy…...This amount of energy is strong enough!"
Fang Yuan clenched his fists and could feel the immense power inside his body. He could not wait to find another expert to duel with.
If both Elder Yan and Elder Han attacked him together now, he would not be afraid.
In the entire Spirit Returning Sect, he only feared Shi Yutong.
"What would be the outcome if I fight against a Wu Zong now?"
Fang Yuan closed his eyes and recalled the day when he saw the duel between Wu Zong and the spiritual knight. There was a fast transfer of magical energy and when Fang Yuan recalled this scene, he shook his head.
"Not yet! I would probably end up escaping if I were to fight against them now. Of course….. if I considered the spiritual beasts I have and geographical location in my favour, I would still have the possibility of escaping!"
He must survive in order to be able to make his next move. Fang Yuan clearly knew this logic.
He was relieved at the result.
His skills had reached such a high level and he would have the ability to defend himself. Even if all the spiritual objects in the secluded valley had been discovered, he was confident in continuing what he used to do.
...
After the breakthrough, Fang Yuan was in a good mood and he went for a shower happily. He then changed into a new set of clothes and was about to make some tea when a noise came from outside.
"This is Zhou Wenwu, I am here to see Master Fang Yuan!"
Zhou Wenwu sounded shocked but Fang Yuan did not show any concern for it.
Ever since the Spirit Returning Sect was raided by a mysterious person, the Martial Arts Court had been burnt and the sect lost a few elders during the battle. Lady Yan was also missing and no one knew whether she was dead or alive. Qinghe County was in a chaos after the news of the Spirit Returning Sect being raided started to spread.
The most mainstream way of looking at things was that the raid was done by an expert from the Five Ghosts Sect as a form of seeking revenge.
Nobody linked the raid to Fang Yuan, who was living in the secluded valley and had been taking care of Elder Han's illness.
Everybody was panicking and Zhou Wenwu came to ask for help constantly. It was obvious that he was seeking for protection and to prove his loyalty for Fang Yuan, he would expose all kinds of secrets of the Spirit Returning Sect.
For example, Fang Yuan knew that ever since the raid, the Spirit Returning Sect recalled all the elders and disciples from all their controlled territories and was willing to give up some of the territories, hoping that the sect would get away from such incidents in future.
Lu Zhisen, who was in Qingye City, was ordered to return to the sect as soon as possible.
However, Elder Han chose to stay behind and no one knew the actual reason why he chose to stay behind. He claimed that he was seriously injured and with his current injuries, he would be useless anyway if he were to return to the sect to help. Fang Yuan guessed that this old man was probably too afraid to die now and would only go out for battle when he had fully recovered.
He was happy now and without the contributions of the two elders, he would not have been able to improve that fast.
Chapter 76: Extinction
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Zhou Wenwu was worried and came to ask for support. Fang Yuan consoled him with a few sentences and sent him back.
After all, Fang Yuan was quite busy at that would he have the free time to attend to Zhou Wenwu's needs?
Back in the Green Peak.
The peak of the mountain could be seen vaguely in the cloud of fog. There was grass grown there and there was a Red-eyed White Bird flying around.
"Finally I'm here!"
Fang Yuan was wearing tight clothing. The Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle followed behind closely and they were all tensed up.
Even since he reached this place, Fang Yuan had been eyeing this piece of spiritual land for quite a while. However, there were huge Red-eyed White Birds guarding this piece of land and his plans on the further development of this land were all useless.
Currently, the numbers of the Red-eyed White Birds had decreased by a lot and Fang Yuan was now a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]. He was capable to remove the Red-eyed White Birds!
"I am quite familiar with the movements and the activities of the Red-eyed White Birds already….."
Fang Yuan hid in the cloud of fog and focused on observing any movements on the cliff.
"The Red-eyed White King Bird should be back from its hunting now…."
"Chirp! Chirp!"
After a few hours, a sound made by the Red-eyed White King Bird was heard through the strong wind.
Fang Yuan had seen the Red-eyed White King Bird flying through the cloud of fog many times. Its giant wings spread through the cloud of fog and its claws were holding onto a giant python. It then landed smoothly on a platform.
"What a great opportunity for me!"
At that moment, Fang Yuan's eyes glittered.
The Red-eyed White King Bird was able to fly and could escape from Fang Yuan easily even though Fang Yuan was powerful enough to defeat it.
After all, even with the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's help, it was hard to say whether he could defeat the Red-eyed White King Bird in mid-air.
"I will go to the entrance of the hole to trap the Red-eyed White King Bird later. You both will deal with the rest of the Red-eyed White Birds outside. Understand?"
Fang Yuan gave instructions to both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle.
Both spiritual beasts had become smarter as they had been drinking the spiritual tea for quite some time. Both of them nodded to acknowledge the instructions given by Fang Yuan.
"Very well!"
Fang Yuan did not hesitate and went to the peak right away.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
At the top of the cliff, one would be mesmerised by the beautiful scenery of the Green Peak. The cloud of fog surrounded the cliff and the place suddenly felt a little smaller.
"Her!"
Fang Yuan breathed in hard and jumped out from a bush. He then jumped down from the cliff and landed firmly on a platform.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Many of the Red-eyed White Birds started to make noises and came attacking with a few other spiritual beasts leading the group.
"Get…..out of my way!"
Fang Yuan exhaled a long breath and shouted loudly. Many white feathers fell to the ground and many Red-eyed White Birds became unconscious.
If Gui Wusheng was here and had witnessed that his Paralysing Scream was able to produce such effect, he would be very surprised.
"Chirp!"
On the platform of the entrance of the hole, a big silhouette appeared and it was actually the Red-eyed White King Bird. It glared at Fang Yuan and its eyes were filled with anger.
The Red-eyed White King Bird still remembered Fang Yuan for stealing its spiritual objects!
Not only did Fang Yuan come here to steal on a regular basis, he was also killing its own species.
As the leader of the Red-eyed White Birds and a spiritual beast, the Red-eyed White King Bird was very concerned about the survival of its species.
It would be much more hostile towards its enemy!
It then let out a strange noise and did not hesitate to pounce on Fang Yuan.
"Haha….we meet again. I shall send you back!"
Seeing that the Red-eyed White King Bird was charging right towards him, Fang Yuan was slightly eager to fight against it. His Iron Skin Technique was at its peak and his right palm became black and hard like iron. He then went forward and grabbed forcefully.
"Bang!"
There was a loud noise and the platform shook. A few pieces of small rocks then fell from the walls of the hole.
The Red-eyed White King Bird then flew back to the hole quickly as it lost the battle.
It did not expect a human would be that powerful. On normal occasions, humans ran away once they see it!
"That was not satisfying enough for me, fight again!"
Fang Yuan shouted as he stepped into the hole.
Even though a spiritual beast can become stronger on its own without any training, the time needed for that to happen was at least 10 years and sometimes a few hundred years!
However, humans could train on their own and become stronger also.
As heaven's movement was ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along. That was the beauty of the training!
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The Red-eyed White King Bird rolled and got up. It shook its feathers and a few pieces of rocks fell off. Suddenly, there was a loud chirp and the edges of the feathers started to become red in colour.
It became mad!
Fang Yuan triggered the Red-eyed White King Bird and caused it to become mad.
"So what if you are mad?"
Fang Yuan glanced at it and his miniature elemental force quickly surged. His muscles became bigger and he grew slightly taller. He then charged right at it.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Back in the hole, pieces of rocks were flying around and there were many shock waves.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
"Keke!"
Outside the hole, the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle were working well together. They sealed the entrance of the hole and dealt with the incoming Red-eyed White Birds.
In the past, both of them would not have been able to defeat the whole group of Red-eyed White Birds on their own. Now, with the ambush technique that they had learnt from Fang Yuan, the decreasing numbers of the Red-eyed White Birds and the benefits both of them got from the spiritual objects, their skills had improved tremendously. Not only were they able to hold the entrance of the hole on their own, they were able to defeat the large group of the Red-eyed White Birds as well.
This resulted in a big battle on the platform. Many white feathers fell onto the ground and the whole place looked as if it had just snowed.
"Keke!"
The Flower Fox Ferret lifted it claws and smashed through one of the opponent's head. It then jumped and managed to broke another opponent's neck.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The remaining Red-eyed White Birds saw what happen to the dead ones and let out a sorrowful chirp. They then retreated.
How could the Iron-tailed Black Eagle let this chance go? Even though it was of no match for the Red-eyed White King Bird, it was able to deal with the other Red-eyed White Birds and chased after the remaining ones. It managed to kill the rest in the end.
Not long after, dead Red-eyed White Birds were seen everywhere in the Green peak with a few exceptions. A few remaining birds were seen hiding in their nests as they were too scared to come out.
Seeing this, both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle looked at each other before entering the hole.
The shock waves stopped and when both of them reached the end of the hole, they saw a small lake. There, a few bamboos were growing beside it and there was a huge bird's nest.
There was a pile of rocks at a corner of the hole and a big white feather could be seen there.
"Hoo...hoo…."
Fang Yuan spat out a long breath and he reverted to his original size. His clothing was already torn into pieces and there were 3 obvious claw marks on his chest.
"The Red-eyed White King Bird is indeed powerful. It can fight a martial artist at the peak of the 12th Gate after it got enraged…..Luckily I was at an advantage and had a stronger body, if not I would not have been able to defeat it!"
Fang Yuan reflected on his battle with the Red-eyed White King Bird and swallowed a bamboo fruit to recover his power.
He sighed upon seeing the nest.
Even though the spiritual plants were precious, why would both of them be even concerned about the spiritual plants when they were fighting to the death against each other?
Hence, many of the spiritual plants in the hole were destroyed during the battle.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle did not consider much and flew to the pile of rocks. It then stared at the Red-eyed White King Bird.
"Oh? You can feel it too?"
Fang Yuan was surprised and went to the pile of rocks as well. "It is actually not dead. It fainted because of its injuries and its madness. Now it is definitely no match for you….."
"Caw! Caw!"
Seeing this, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle then happily patted its wings and went off to look for spiritual objects with the Flower Fox Ferret.
Fang Yuan had a thought when he saw the Red-eyed White King Bird was now held captive.
There was no need to mention the advantage of spiritual beasts who could fly. The Red-eyed White King Bird was more powerful than the Iron-tailed Black eagle at its peak. It could become mad as well. If it was not in such a state, it would be difficult to defeat it.
Or maybe, Fang Yuan was no match for it and could probably not be able to escape from it if the battle was in a piece of clear land!
With such power, it was ideal for the Red-eyed White King Bird to be guarding the Green Peak regardless of anything.
A Red-eyed White King Bird that was alive was way better than a dead one.
Also, even though many of the Red-eyed White Birds were killed, the young ones and the eggs remained.
"Even though the chance is slim, one has to keep on trying with that glimpse of hope!"
Fang Yuan decided not to bother it anymore and went to the nest.
This Red-eyed White King Bird was addicted to collecting objects. Most of the spiritual objects in the Green Peak were moved to its nest.
However, most of the spiritual objects now were destroyed during the battle and Fang Yuan was in distress over this.
"Besides the bamboo, there is an unknown wisteria which is still in good condition….."
Fang Yuan then picked up a half-smashed fruit which was red in colour and had a few cracks on the surface. There was a look of distress on his face when he saw it.
How many types of spiritual objects were there in this world? With his limited knowledge about spiritual objects, he was not able to recognise all of them.
After much discussion, both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle could only give up a seed of a fruit and no one knew whether this seed could still grow into a plant.
"This spiritual land is not too big and it is sufficient to hold the whole farm…."
Fang Yuan had decided that it was necessary for the Questioning Heart Tea Tree and the Flame Jade Rice to be relocated to the Green Peak.
"I shall leave a portion of the land to try and grow the Vermillion Fruit. It should be able to grow…."
Fang Yuan felt happy about the plans that he had made for the new spiritual land.
With the removal of the Red-eyed White Birds, no one would be stopping him from making good use of this piece of spiritual land in the Green Peak.
"I should continue digging further to see if I can save a few of the other spiritual plants!"
After much calculations, he was in distress and started digging.
'Kacha! Kacha!"
At that moment, a wall which had no cracks on its surface finally collapsed and crumbled into pieces of rocks. A secluded and dark tunnel was then revealed.
Chapter 77: Inheritance
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Eh?"
Fang Yuan approached the side of the cave, examined it carefully, and felt anxious.
"This tunnel is smooth and doesn't seem to be formed naturally, but rather, man-made... Furthermore, the layer of rocks outside is obviously a cover-up. There was too much commotion made by the red-eyed white king bird and I while we were fighting, and the rocks gave way?"
After re-enacting the scene, Fang Yuan made a guess on what caused the rocks to give way.
"It seems that this spiritual land is not unclaimed. Did someone discover it before me?"
With this thought, he became solemn.
"Seeing the surroundings outside, it seems that it had been quite a while since someone came here?"
Fang Yuan lit a tree branch and threw it into the tunnel.
"Whoosh!"
The flame was huge and the surroundings were illuminated.
"There is no air circulation, so how is it possible..."
Seeing this, he became suspicious. "How is it possible for fresh air to enter this secret tunnel? Could it be that there is another tunnel inside that leads to the outside world?"
Who would have thought that within the nest of the red-eyed white king bird there would be a secret tunnel?
What was even more surprising was that this tunnel was antique, but seemed like it was rebuilt, and smelled like it was lost in time.
"Flower Fox Ferret!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head. The Flower Fox Ferret dashed into the cave and appeared after a short while.
"Is there any danger?"
Seeing the response of the Flower Fox Ferret, Fang Yuan sighed and carefully entered the cave.
The four walls of the cave were smoothened out, and with the light from the flame, a distinct shadow could be seen on the wall.
"This is impossible... What material is this made out of?"
Fang Yuan touched the wall, and it felt cold and smooth, like the finest silk, or a mirror. It was shocking.
Furthermore, within the woods, the purpose of a secret tunnel would be to bring convenience and act as a shortcut, or a hiding place; there was no need to make it so exquisite.
Unless... It was effortless to make it as such.
Fang Yuan continued walking inwards, and his shadow continually appeared on the walls, overlapping each other, appearing somewhat hypnotic.
All of a sudden, a layer of fog appeared, covering the ground.
"Go to sleep! Sleep!"
A strong hypnotic force was felt as Fang Yuan became sleepy.
"This is... The unknown force surrounding Green peak spiritual land?"
Fang Yuan felt a chill down his spine.
Surrounding the spiritual land, there was a similar hypnotic force protecting the land. This force seemed to only affect humans, and even Fang Yuan himself was previously affected by it, and only pulled through with a little bit of luck. After that incident, he slowly grew a resistance to it.
However, the force here was stronger by 10 times! 100 times!
Fang Yuan felt his eyelids becoming heavy, and even the miniature elemental force within him felt lazy, and he could not call upon it.
"The mind is the owner of the body. If it is calm, it will become wiser; if it is unsettled, one will become lost. In meditating, one must find peace and leave all behind. Only if this is fulfilled would someone find void and reconcile with the teachings. In leaving everything behind and meditating, there are four deviations in which one must avoid, and they are: The mind lost in blindness, the mind cannot be controlled, the mind does not know where it comes from and where to go, and one's thoughts do not agree with one's actions. Only by overcoming these four difficulties would one be able to control their mind and enter the next step of cultivation..."
In a moment, the entire Meditative Tea Ceremony appeared in his head.
Fang Yuan crossed his legs, sat down and began to recite.
After a while, he felt a cooling sensation flowing from his consciousness. He felt a chill all over, and the restricted inner force began to flow smoothly throughout his entire body again.
Fang Yuan opened his eyes, and a furry face appeared in front of him.
"Keke!"
The Flower Fox Ferret looked at Fang Yuan, and seeing that he was alright, patted its chest with its paws, as though it heaved a sigh of relief.
There was an urgent chirp coming from outside, and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle sounded rather desperate. It was too big-sized to enter the tunnel and could only make a commotion outside to attract attention.
"I'm alright!"
Fang Yuan shouted, and appeased the two spiritual beasts. He felt comforted that spiritual beasts were much more loyal than humans; if Zhou Wenwu was here instead, who would've known what would happen.
After getting a grip, Fang Yuan looked at the tunnel. The walls were as reflective as before, and the fog rose up from the ground as though he was in Heaven; the only difference was that there was no more hypnotizing effect.
"Master... You saved me once more..."
Fang Yuan sighed and walked on.
Very quickly, he approached a dead end. There was a crystal door made up of many tiny crystals.
Above the door was a crack, and within it was an obvious green colour. It seemed like a squarish jade piece.
With its features, Fang Yuan could recognise from one look and recall the jade with the Blood Magic Technique.
Without hesitation, he stretched his hand out to retrieve the jade.
"It is indeed similar..."
There was no special trap or mechanism when Fang Yuan attempted to retrieve it. He tried to push the crystal door, but it was as firm as a mountain and would not budge.
Mustering up all his strength, he tried a few more times. Fang Yuan was disappointed that even with his current strength, he still could not open the door.
"If the top of the door could have this piece of jade, then I wonder what other treasures would be inside?"
Fang Yuan hesitated, thought about it, and placed the jade on his forehead. He focused his magical energy on his Mind Palace, and something broke through.
"Rumble!"
A rumbling was heard from around. Fang Yuan became dizzy and a scene appeared in front of him!
Within the fog, an old man wearing a feathered robe appeared in front of the door, and looked over, full of compassion.
"Master?!"
Witnessing this scene made Fang Yuan feel like he was seeing a ghost!
This old man's image was exactly this same as his buried Master- Master Wenxin!
He witnessed Master Wenxin's last breath and even saw his body being cremated, and tombstone erected.
"Fang Yuan, do you feel shocked after witnessing this scene?"
Master Wenxin jokingly asked, and his tone and expression were the same as how Fang Yuan remembered him. "Master must let you know, that this is not a joke, nor it is my rebirth from the dead. What you are witnessing now is the imagery I left behind... This spiritual land was set-up by myself, and only you can pass the tests along the way to make it alive here!"
"Imagery..."
Fang Yuan realised that the surroundings were not real, but just a figment of his imagination. "Whatever is recorded in this jade is now playing in my mind? Is Master this powerful? This move is unprecedented... Furthermore, setting up this spiritual land?"
One of his suspicions was removed.
With such a strong hypnotic force around the entire mysterious spiritual land, how could his Meditative Tea Ceremony easily counter it?
The only possibility was that he held the 'key' to it!
This land was an inheritance from Master Wenxin!
After he cleared this doubt, another doubt arose. "Master... What kind of person are you, why would you leave it here for me to discover and not pass it to me directly?"
"When I was young, I made a little name for myself. I became tired of the happenings in the city and left to live in the secluded valley, then subsequently met you. All this is fate..."
Of course, Master Wenxin could not answer Fang Yuan's question; after all, he was just an imagery and had no mind of its own. It could only continue as to how it was programmed. "Master initially prepared to bring all my teachings to the grave, and let you led a simple life. That might be a good choice, but after that, I realised that you were not a normal person!"
Even though this was just an imagery, Master Wenxin's expression still shocked Fang Yuan, as though he was being seen through. He began to suspect if Master Wenxin had known about his secret all along.
"Therefore, as a special person, you will undergo a special journey. Your life will be full of surprises... Master shall leave you this piece of land, and see if fate brings you here!"
At the end, Master Wenxin's tone became serious. "Master will split my inheritance into a few parts, and you have to progressively inherit in order to receive the full inheritance. This is for your own good; after all, my teachings are too dangerous... But if you may succeed in the future, you can stand tall and proud..."
"Lastly, after inheriting what I have for you, you will definitely pass it down. I use to have a nickname in the past, called 'Heartless'..."
After Master Wenxin's description, Fang Yuan's expression kept changing; from the joy at the beginning, to being surprised by his master, then shock. It was complicated.
After a long while, the imagery disappeared, and what was left was a line of words.
"Master's inheritance..."
Fang Yuan did not read on. He kept the jade, looked at the crystal door, confused, and suddenly, he knelt down and kowtowed three times.
"Master, don't you worry. As your disciple, I will pass down whatever I have learnt, take over whatever you might have, and also... take your revenge!"
"Dong! Dong!"
After paying his respects, he left without turning around.
Master Wenxin's inheritance was split into a few parts, and without accomplishing what was written on the jade, no one could open the door, not even by brute force. Fang Yuan had no other choice but to leave.
The information he gathered today was too much for him. He needed to calm down and think through it.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Fang Yuan took a quick glance at the unconscious red-eyed white king bird, went out to the cliff, rode the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, and flew over the Green Peak spiritual land.
Although this spiritual land was rather small, it was still over half a square mile. Although most of it was hilly and uneven, to Fang Yuan, it could be flattened out and converted to a farm and it could be expanded by another 200,000 square yards.
"Such a spiritual land with a dream-like surrounding... Who would have known that it was made by Master from scratch..."
Fang Yuan looked at the entire spiritual land, and his became increasingly shocked. "Is he a dream master?"
Based on Master Wenxin, he was a dream master.
A dream master was different from a spiritual knight who could conjure spells with the flick of a wrist and different from an alchemy master who could make spiritual pills. A dream master was much more superior, and based on rumours, on the list of talents, a dream master was ranked first, and if becoming a dream master was impossible, only then would one consider to become a spiritual knight or an alchemy master.
Furthermore, if one were to become a true high-level dream master, his dream world could be actualised, and such dream-like surroundings would be formed!
Chapter 78: Dream Master
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"The spiritual land is either formed naturally on its own or formed when a dream master dies….."
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle landed on the peak. As Fang Yuan witnessed this scene, he was shocked and speechless.
At least, now he knew that Shi Yutong and the spiritual knight would never be able to achieve this. Master Wenxin was way more superior than them.
"All of a sudden, there is a change in the nature of this piece of land and it became a spiritual land…..The power of a dream master is indeed incredible!"
Fang Yuan still couldn't believe it. "Such master could rest in peace in solitude. What a secret type of energy this is..."
Obviously, this master was way beyond Wu Zong and the level of spiritual knights. He was probably the most powerful in the whole of the secluded valley and even in the country!
The world was too big and this country was just a small part of this world.
Fang Yuan knew that if he were to be discovered by his opponent now, he would not be spared.
"Just that…..in this world, miracles do happen and that is what that makes life much more interesting!"
He silently clenched his fists and glanced at his stats window.
With such a system that he had inherited, he was much more confident to improve himself quickly. One day, he would be able to achieve, or even surpass the level Master Wenxin had achieved!
By then, he would have helped to fulfil what Master Wenxin hadn't been able to!
What about now?
Fang Yuan forced himself to stop pondering over these thoughts and began to plan ahead.
"Iron-tailed Black Eagle, Flower Fox Ferret! Faster, you two! We will be quite busy for a period of time soon!"
The main obstacle in the spiritual land on the Green Peak was the Red-eyed White Birds. Even since they had been removed, Fang Yuan would want to explore the whole of Green Peak to collect spiritual objects and also to map out this place.
Of course, the main point was to find a suitable place here to build his own secret base and relocate the important spiritual plants from the secluded valley to here.
The Green Peak was not small.
It was not an easy task to find a suitable spot to live in such a vast place.
Luckily, Fang Yuan had the Iron-tailed Black Eagle with him to explore the whole area. After a period of exploration, they managed to find a suitable spot in the middle of the mountain. There was a large flat land of a few square miles. There was also a spiritual spring nearby and the place here was not far from the platform leading to the nest of the Red-eyed White King Bird.
Fang Yuan became a hardworking gardener. He organised this piece of land to make it suitable for further developments and built a fence around the perimeter. He then started the relocation process.
Luckily, there were still some spiritual bamboos left in the hole which the Red-eyed White King Bird lived in. However, the Vermillion Jade Rice was not on the list for the relocation. Fang Yuan was only aiming to relocate the Questioning Heart Tea Tree and the Flame Jade Rice.
"The soil in this spiritual land is way better than the one back in the secluded valley!"
Fang Yuan lifted the hoe and dug his way into the soil. He then nodded in agreement.
Back in the secluded valley, he had grown quite a huge amount of the Emerald Grass in the Vermillion Jade Rice farm. Emerald Grass could help to freshen the surrounding air and if he did not plant this spiritual plant here as well, the nutrients in the soil here would leak out easily.
However, there was still a big difference between the soil in the secluded valley and the soil here in the spiritual land.
"Not only the condition of the soil, the quality of the air, water and other factors were way inferior back in the secluded valley as compared to here….."
Fang Yuan looked at the relocated Questioning Heart Tea Tree that was in front of him and happily nodded his head.
Even after the relocation process, the Questioning Heart Tea Tree was not withered, but rather, was still in a good condition.
"I shall return to the secluded valley in the afternoon and relocate the Flame Jade Rice here. Then, I can shift my focus from the secluded valley to here…."
In the spiritual land, not only the spiritual plants were thriving, Fang Yuan himself felt comfortable to be in there.
Also, one could live longer in the spiritual land. A martial artist could have a higher chance of success in making a breakthrough here. If not, why would this piece of land be called the blessed land?
Not to mention, this piece of spiritual land was left behind by Master Wenxin and it meant a lot to Fang Yuan.
"In future, the secluded valley will just be like an outpost and the main base will be right here in this spiritual land!"
The place here in the Green Peak was quite secluded and it was difficult for others to discover this place. Also, there was a strong hypnotising fog to guard against anyone who dared to trespass.
Fang Yuan was immune to the hypnotisation. An expert in 4 Heavenly Gates or even a Wu Zong would find it difficult to trespass this area, and they would end up sleeping forever.
"The power of the dream master is indeed great….."
Fang Yuan went to the cliff where the Red-eyed White Birds were residing previously and looked at the nests. There were a few young birds and eggs remaining…... he pondered about this silently.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
This was a strong gust of wind and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle came back with a chicken and a wild rabbit.
"Hmm, very good!"
Fang Yuan clapped his hands and said, "Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, I will need both of your help to take care of these young birds for a while!"
"Keke!"
Upon hearing Fang Yuan's request, the Flower Fox Ferret opened its eyes widely and gave a speechless look.
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle was even more shocked by Fang Yuan's request. The Iron-tailed Black Eagle and the Red-eyed White Birds were enemies. How could one request it to take care of the young birds? What was Fang Yuan thinking?
"After all, you all are birds and have some similarities…."
Fang Yuan pushed the responsibility to the two spiritual beasts and carried the wild rabbit back into the hole.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
A loud but weak chirp was heard.
"Bang!"
A giant silhouette appeared and it looked as if it had knocked onto something as a loud noise was produced.
"Why? Red-eyed White King Bird, you have still not accepted reality?"
Fang Yuan took two steps forward and gave a cheerful expression.
Previously, the Red-eyed White King Bird was staring at him furiously.
Now, many of its bones were broken and it was held by a big metal chain. Furthermore, a few giant rocks were holding it down and it could barely move.
Currently, the Red-eyed White King Bird's elemental energy had been exhausted from the battle and it would be hard for it to escape since it was restrained.
After defeating the Red-eyed White King Bird, Fang Yuan didn't kill it in the end. Instead, he trapped it.
However, the Red-eyed White King Bird was still full of pride. It decided to have a hunger strike since it was trapped!
"You still don't want to eat?"
Fang Yuan then threw the wild rabbit to its mouth and took out a bamboo fruit. "It feels terrible after being enraged, doesn't it? Do you want this?"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The Red-eyed White King Bird turned its head and did not even look at Fang Yuan.
Even though through its eyes, one could see its weakness. However, it was still proud. It was once considered an overlord, so how could it admit defeat to humans?
Especially to an evil human who killed its own species!
"Hoo….looks like this is impossible!"
Fang Yuan shook his head and knew that even though it was a spiritual beast, it could only survive up to a month without any food or water. He could end up getting just a dead spiritual bird.
Also, his plans to fully overcome this spiritual bird would fail.
"Looks like…..fairytales are lies. How can you accept it when you had just killed so many people? Are you brainless or are you a moron?"
"You were probably related to my master and that was why I didn't kill you!?"
Fang Yuan shook his head and sealed the entrance of the tunnel with pieces of rocks. He then went to the platform outside and saw that the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle were struggling to take care of the birds. It was an interesting scene to look at even though it was a mess.
"This piece of spiritual land is finally mine!"
He looked at the sky and there was a bright orange light shining at this place through the blue sky. It must be a beautiful sunset.
Fang Yuan crossed his knees and sat down. He then took out a piece of jade and had mixed feelings.
He placed the jade between his eyebrows and concentrated his magical energy. A passage on a technique appeared and it was beautifully written.
Even though he had read the passage many times, regardless, he once again read from the start to the end and understood the meaning of the passage.
This jade was left behind by Master Wenxin and it was a way for him to become a dream master!
"A dream master! The energy from a dream master is considered to be the most powerful even though it is similar to that of spiritual knights, alchemy masters and array masters!"
Master Wenxin's method was simple but it was convincingly effective.
Especially after Fang Yuan had personally witnessed the miracle in this spiritual land.
"A dream master is one who would always make contact with the dream world! A dream….It is the most the magical thing in this world. How are humans able to dream? Why do scenes of the future appear in dreams sometimes? The answers to these questions are supposed to be discovered by a dream master and once he knows that he is dreaming, he will be able to accomplish anything!"
Even though such processes were illusory, Fang Yuan knew that a dream master could accomplish this.
Mind could affect matter and consciousness could affect reality!
The spiritual land right in front of him was the best scene to relate to the statement!
A real dream master could be very powerful and scary at his later stage!
Fang Yuan also understood why Master Wenxin praised his unique talents and left something valuable behind for him to inherit.
"That secret had already been discovered by Master Wenxin!"
The strange dream world that I had…...No, that was not even a dream. It was reliving my entire and actual life….."
"Since Master Wenxin was a dream master and was sensitive to the details that were related to the dream world, how could he not have discovered?"
"Or maybe, because of this, he felt that I had the qualities of a dream master? Or maybe he was hoping that I could control what was happening in the dream world and not be confused by it?"
...….
These few possibilities came into his mind and he understood Master Wenxin's effort. He was touched by it and was more determined than before.
Chapter 79: Heaven's Element
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The world was vast and was split into 4 parts, namely Heaven's Element, Earth's Branches, East's Victory and South's Departure. In each part, the population was more than a billion, and there were as many countries as there were stars in the Milky Way. In these countries, many things were happening; demons and beasts having their own way, humans and gods co-existing, bizarre occurrences, and the most eye-catching phenomenon was the strength of the 'True Cultivator'.
In Heaven's element, there was a Green Cloud mountainous ridge, and a Green Cloud House.
Green Cloud Sect was one of the top 9 True Cultivator influence in Heaven's element. At one time, the sect trained 5 exceptional grandmasters and was therefore very well-known. Furthermore, there were more than 10 highly experienced old eccentric men at the helm. The sect's name was at the top for more than 10,000 years, and there were countless talents trained from the sect, and therefore was referred to as the 'Lucky Sect'.
Green Cloud House was a branch of the Green Cloud Sect and was responsible for recruiting and training the younger generation of disciples. Every 10 years, one of the many in the House would be recommended to join the Main Sect, and become an honorary disciple. His reputation and influence would then be comparable to a nation's master.
Within Heaven's Element, there were more than a thousand of such Houses, and our story would begin from one of these small Houses.
"Fang Yuan, wake up and do your chores!"
In the dormitory, Fang Yuan woke up, rubbed his eyes, and while he was still half-asleep, he noticed a few disciples in green yelling at him, as though they looked down on him.
"Chores? Oh, this is what the disciples of the House have to do daily. They will have to carry water, chop wood, tire themselves out, practice breathing techniques, all to hope for some breathing space and a good foundation..."
Some information popped up in his mind, and Fang Yuan recalled his identity.
"I was originally a farmer's son. It was fate that I saved a House deacon's life. Seeing that I looked special, he brought me to the mountains... A pity that it was his blunder. Although I might look like I have celestial blood, I was the useless one out of the many people with celestial blood. Five years had passed and I have not felt the fate to become something greater, and therefore became the laughing stock..."
Although this memory felt extremely real, for unknown reasons, Fang Yuan felt a little odd and said. "F*ck... Why is this beginning a useless piece of wood yet again? I'm sick of this obstruction okay?"
As he exclaimed, he shocked himself.
As for 'useless piece of wood' and 'obstruction', he didn't even know what he meant, and why he would say it.
"Eh? Fang Yuan, you're quite daring huh!"
A few disciples in green were shocked. Even though they did not know what he was saying, his mocking tone was rather obvious, and their faces turned red with anger.
"This kind of useless wood should be chased out of the House!"
"He owes it all to Deacon Wang..."
"I have never seen such an impudent brat in the House before!"
"Pui, how can this type of person wish to become immortal!"
"Fang Yuan, you seem to be full of energy! You shall settle all the chores today by yourself!"
One of the disciples took a step forward and smiled with pride. "Did you hear what I said?"
"So what if I am a failed celestial blood?"
Fang Yuan clenched his fist, his veins bulging out. "I will successfully build my foundation, enter the Main Sect and become an Immortal Cultivator!"
"Ha ha!"
"What did I just hear?"
"Did the useless person just claimed that he wanted to be an Immortal Cultivator, and enter the Main Sect?"
The crowd became silent, and slowly, laughter began to fill the room. A young man who came from Wang Hou's Family appeared unfriendly, squinted his eyes and said, "Don't boast, be careful with your words!"
He didn't have to do the dirty work; a few followers came forward, preparing to teach Fang Yuan a lesson.
"Cough Cough!"
A loud commanding voice was heard from behind.
"Good day Deacon!"
Many young ladies paid their greetings and opened up a pathway. A middle-aged man walked out, his sharp eyes sweeping across the room. "What are you all doing here? Go and do your chores!"
"Yes, sir!"
Even the young man from Wang Hou Family did not dare to disobey the deacon and left promptly. Before he left, he stared at Fang Yuan, which sent chills down his spine, as though a snake was crawling on his back.
"You, leave too!"
The deacon stared at Fang Yuan, shook his head, and slowly took his leave.
Fang Yuan went back to the room and carried his hoe and bamboo basket.
...
The Green Cloud mountainous ridge was the source of green wood. This type of wood was entirely green, and strong as steel. It was the perfect material of best quality to construct buildings or ships.
If left to grow more than a hundred years, the wood could be used entirely to form some low-grade tools.
With this alone, Green Cloud House could survive on its own, without trading with the neighbouring smaller countries.
Therefore, chopping the green wood was the daily chore of the lowly disciples.
Of course, there were not many like Fang Yuan, who tried for five years but was still not fated for anything greater.
"Piang!"
As the axe landed on a crack in the green wood, there was a continuous sound. The impact on Fang Yuan's hand was unbearable, and he felt numb.
He took in a deep breath, and with a straight face, landed another hit on the wood. He controlled his breathing and breathed in a rhythmic fashion.
"Through chopping wood every day, I would train my circulation, bones and joints to get some sense of Spirit... Even though I have zero potential, I should take around a year to enter the Main Sect, but now I have spent five years..."
After an afternoon, Fang Yuan finally finished chopping his green wood. He wiped his sweat and smiled. "After gaining a sense of Spirit, I still need to build up my foundation for a hundred days before I can commence by Spirit training! There are 13 tiers in Spirit training, and only after completing everything, I would be at the pinnacle and would finally have the rights to try and get assessed into the Main Sect... I've heard that after the Demonic Wind stage, the inner Dragon and Tiger in me would combine, and undergo 19 Misfortunes before entering the 'Golden Pill' stage!"
"Within the Golden Pill stage, I would finally be comparable to the standards of an outer disciple. And as for when I'll undergo the 39 Calamities and fusion of Elemental Infant so as to enter the inner Sect... After that, there will be Magic-splitting, Magic-melting and Magic-fusing... All these realms are increasing in difficulty. Furthermore, the Misfortunes would become increasingly scarier, and at the stage of Disaster, in every century there would be one 99 Wind-Fire Misfortune, and if one can survive it 9 times consecutively, and finally able to fly in the sunrise towards the heavens, one would become Immortal... I must become Immortal!"
"Wait a minute... Immortal Cultivation sounds familiar... What strange language am I speaking in again?"
Fang Yuan scratched his head, drank a mouthful of water and prepared to continue chopping wood.
"I found him, he's here!"
All of a sudden, there was a commotion along the pathway to the mountains, and a few figures appeared.
Fang Yuan felt miserable as he saw the group approaching.
Those that appeared were the many young masters from Wang Hou's Family and a few followers.
"Fang Yuan... You were lucky in the morning that Deacon came to help you. However, this is the wilderness, I shall wait and see who would come to save you now!"
A bulky young man came forward, and as he clenched his fist popping sounds could be heard.
"These few have already comprehended the sense of Spirit, and are within the Spirit training stage. I am no match for them... Run!"
Without a second thought, Fang Yuan turned around and ran.
Just a few followers would give him problems already, not to mention the backup brought by the young masters from Wang Hou's Family. They were highly skilled and their progress was incredibly quick; rumour has it that there were about to enter the 5th tier of Spirit training!
"Give chase!"
Seeing Fang Yuan escaping, a few followers naturally gave chase.
Their stamina was good, and they were quick. By splitting up, they cornered Fang Yuan to the edge of a cliff.
"Haha... Try running!"
By splitting up, they cornered him, and the young masters stood behind, excited. "Beat him up! See if he'll dare to talk to Sister Shui Ling any more!"
"What?"
Fang Yuan felt unjust. "You are against me just because of this? I have absolutely no relationship with Sister Shui Ling, we just had a few words..."
"What, who would be as stupid as me, beaten up for nothing..."
Unknowingly, Fang Yuan felt a sense of familiarity as he witnessed this scene.
It was as though he went through the same thing once before, it was as though a girl whom he was not close with brought him trouble too.
"It's this feeling again... Wait a minute, Why... am I running? Why am I here?"
"Who... am I?"
Fang Yuan mumbled to himself, lost. He released his essence all around, and his breathing changed.
"Beat him up!"
A few followers did not wait and rushed up.
"Ha! Eagle Claw!"
Shadows flew by, and fractures were heard. The young masters were shocked.
They did not expect this to happen; the ones on the floor crying for help were their followers instead.
"Secular martial arts..."
He frowned. "Is it that strong?"
"It takes one day to see through, and realise that I am me all along!"
Fang Yuan ignored him and laughed. He was ecstatic. "So... This is the feeling of a dream master!"
He now realised that this entire world was his dream world!
From existing in his dream to figuring out his identity to waking up and being aware, these were the important gates for a dream master to break through!
Not everyone could become aware in their dream.
It would be more likely for one to be sucked in and get lost in their own dream.
However, Fang Yuan easily broke through this first Gate in his first dream!
"It seems that Master did teach me a thing or two..."
Fang Yuan became emotional.
Although Master Wenxin did not directly teach him the ways of a dream master from the beginning, the Meditative Tea Ceremony that he passed down was strongly related to the role of a dream master.
Furthermore, he grew up in an alternate dream world from young and had plenty of experience.
With these two factors, he broke through the 'Riddle of the Dream' relatively quickly, quicker than the average person.
"Is this person... crazy?"
At one side, a young master noticed Fang Yuan talking to himself and began to worry. He clenched his teeth and took out a talisman which gave out a spiritual light.
This was a treasure bought at a high price; the young master felt that it was a waste to use it on Fang Yuan. With a shout, he exclaimed. "Ji!"
"Whoosh!"
A bright light flashed, and both of Fang Yuan's arms dropped down cleanly.
Chapter 80: Dream Disciple
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Haha… This Golden Blade Talisman is indeed a useful spiritual talisman!"
Seeing the power of the talisman, the young master laughed heartily, but after a while, his laughter stopped. He stared at Fang Yuan, who was bleeding profusely, and his face turned blank. "You… you… you..."
The physical body would be extremely precious to those Immortal Cultivators who have yet to break through and enter the Golden Pill period.
As for him, left with two empty shoulders, he should have passed out from the pain, or even die!
Surprisingly, Fang Yuan appeared extremely calm, as though it was not his own body that was hurt.
"Since all of this is a dream, then the pain and the suffering I am experiencing would be fake... As long as I want to exist in this dream world, I will be able to do so. In theory, I am the owner of this entire dream world!"
Fang Yuan tried to change himself and return to his real state; he tried regrowing his limbs, and later on, he tried to increase his cultivation level directly to Tribulation Stage.
Nothing happened. His plan to cheat and become an immortal failed miserably.
Following that, Fang Yuan tried to change the physical world. For instance, he tried to summon the 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations to strike and kill those noisy pests but failed again.
"Ah... It seems like I have to take things step by step!"
Fang Yuan recalled the description of the dream world. Some people, under certain circumstances, would be aware that they were having a nightmare, but would not be able to wake up from it. Furthermore, they could do nothing about the fear in the dream, because they were not able to control their own consciousness, and Fang Yuan was in this situation.
"To be able to be conscious in a dream is already an important step. The next step would be to remain conscious the moment the dream begins. As the saying goes, I would always know who fell asleep first!"
Fang Yuan took a few steps forward. The blood from his arm already formed a pool on the ground, but he was still calm, as though it wasn't even his own blood.
"What are you doing? Fre... Freak! Don't... Don't come over!"
The young master was in shock and fell to the floor. A foul smell came from his crotch, as he peed in his pants.
Regardless of how high he was in his Spirit training, he was after all a young man, and after witnessing such a gruesome scene was scared till he peed!
"I guess that death is still the quickest way to leave the dream world in the initial stage? Of course, I must have the intention of leaving, if not, even the Tribulation stage would be able to wipe me completely off from this world..."
Fang Yuan frowned, took two steps forward and lifted the young master up.
"Very normal... Very real..."
He cut the wrist of the young master, and the arteries, veins and bones were visible.
The young master continued to struggle and threw a few objects on Fang Yuan. A few more bloody holes in his body appeared.
"Interesting! Interesting! Would I still return here the next time I dream?"
Although the dream world was interesting, the flow of time in both worlds had to be managed well.
In history, there were dream masters who were careless while cultivating and were trapped in their dream world, unable to escape. In the end, they died of hunger in the real world!
As a rule of thumb, whenever a junior dream master trained, there should always be a senior dream master by his side to look out for him.
Fang Yuan did not have a senior by his side, and to be safe, he wanted to leave immediately without having to consider if he still had enough time in the real world.
"Only after I am able to control my dream world will I become the owner of the world. By then, controlling the flow of time would not be a problem... Based on this alone, I could get endless time compared to others..."
Fang Yuan heaved a sigh, brought the screaming young master to the edge of the cliff, and jumped down.
...
"Rumble!"
Green Peak spiritual land.
Fang Yuan's body shook, and he opened his eyes.
"Entering a dream... so interesting... Who would've known that my first dream world would be a world of Immortal Cultivators? I thought that it would be the other weird dream!"
He was longing to experience the other modernised world full of technology another time.
However, a junior dream master could not control his own dream worlds, and could only roam around dream worlds without control.
"Eh?"
He looked at the incense in front of him and saw a halfway-burnt incense smoking away.
"I spent more than 10 years in the dream, but it is not even equivalent to the time to burn one incense in the real world?"
The speed of time in dream worlds conjured by dream masters was usually faster than that of the real world. Of course, there were still many weird and wonderful dream worlds, and therefore dream masters could cheat time and explore every one of them.
Fang Yuan heaved a sigh and placed the jade on his forehead.
"The cultivation of a dream master is split into 4 steps: Entering a dream, becoming self-aware, changing the dream world and lastly, ruling the dream world!"
Becoming self-aware meant that every time one entered a dream, he could be aware that he was dreaming, and not be confused.
The next step was changing one's body, followed by the surroundings and finally the entire dream world. Only then would one rule the dream world!
After this dream world training, Fang Yuan felt a cool stream of knowledge and consciousness flowing into his Mind Palace and into his body. He became refreshed, took in a deep breath, and glanced at his stats window:
"Name: Fang Yuan
Essence: 8.0
Spirit: 7.9
Magic: 4.1
Profession: Dream Disciple (Junior)
Cultivation: [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]
Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 11) (Able to harness Elemental Force)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"
"Dream Disciple - You are new to being a dream master, and have the skills to become self-aware in a dream; these skills are the most basics in the profession!"
"Every dream training would increase [Magic] by '0.1', and that's not too bad!"
Fang Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
The requirements of a dream master were high and unfathomable; even though Fang Yuan himself possessed 4 times more magical energy than the average person, he could barely reach the basics of a dream master cultivation!
Of course, the harder the initial stages, the greater the potential of cultivation.
"The initial stages of a dream master training would begin in one's own dream world as that was the safest. One's magical energy would be greatly affected if they were to get injured or die in another's dream world... One is only considered to have attained the title of 'Dream Master' when one gains full control of his own dream world, after which the exploration of other dream worlds would begin..."
Fang Yuan read what Master Wenxin had left behind for him, and knew that at the beginning, a dream master would be weak, and may not even be able to protect himself.
Only when one had become a true dream master and begin to explore other people's dream worlds, would the real power of the dream master surface.
"While martial artists train their Spirit in their Dantian, a dream disciple cultivates his Mind Palace between the eyebrows. When he reaches the stage of dream master, he would be cultivating dream elemental force..."
Fang Yuan rubbed his forehead.
He felt a cooling sensation in his Mind Palace; it was a totally different type of power from inner force.
Based on its characteristics, it was more similar to the blood elemental force and a spiritual knight's elemental force. At the same time, there were slight differences as well.
"When I am able to fully control my dream world, this miniature elemental force will transform into dream elemental force, and act as the foundation for my cultivation!"
Fang Yuan stood up, loosened his joints, and walked out.
He came out from a grass hut built at the halfway point of Green Peak spiritual land. There was fencing around, and the Flame Jade Rice and Questioning Heart Tea were all growing well, within the fencing.
"Indeed... Spiritual land is the best for growing spiritual plants!"
Fang Yuan approached the boundaries of the fence and arrived at a carefully carved out plot of land for plantation.
Other than the two matured spiritual plants, he planted the seed of the bamboo fruit, and a few other spiritual plant's seeds which he recovered from the bird's nest.
Hopefully, by harnessing the magical abilities of this spiritual land, the spiritual plants would be able to germinate.
The cultivation of a dream master could not be rushed. At this stage, a dream a day would be enough. Fang Yuan would spend his remaining energy on setting-up the spiritual land, and try to win over the red-eyed white birds.
Those birds were made to starve, and when desperate, obeyed those who gave them food, which comforted Fang Yuan.
As long as they were willing to put down their pride for once, there would be a chance of taming them in the future. Slowly, day after day, step by step, no matter how resolute they were, they would surely be tamed one day.
The only worry was the red-eyed white king bird, with no fighting will, and was already useless.
"And these bird eggs... Let the Iron-tailed Black Eagle hatch them? Seems like an original idea!"
Fang Yuan climbed on a platform and held a large white egg in his hands. He felt the little movements of the chick within the egg, and shook his head. "Should I….. Look for a bunch of hen to try it out? It may work!"
If the red-eyed white king bird knew of this plan, he would be so embarrassed, and might even change its mind and listen to Fang Yuan.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Just as Fang Yuan was deciding whether or not to use the bird eggs to provoke the red-eyed white kind bird, a gust of wind came and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle landed on the platform, carrying the Flower Fox Ferret on its back.
It had been teasing the other white birds together with the Flower Fox Ferret for the past few days, and both of them had been travelling to and from the secluded valley and did not know that Fang Yuan was considering asking it to become the eggs' nanny.
"What happened?"
He was signalled to come towards them, and Fang Yuan smiled. He froze.
"Keke!"
The Flower Fox Ferret let out a pitiful cry. There was a clean wound on it; it was not harmed by other animals, but rather, by a weapon.
"This injury... Something has happened to the secluded valley?!"
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes, looking fierce.
"True... I've placed all my attention to this spiritual land, and tossed aside everything else, could it be that something has happened?"
"The only issue I have is that that used to be my home and my Master's reputation!"
"Who dares to provoke me!"
Fang Yuan let out a cold laugh and rode on the back of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle. "Let's go! We shall teach them a lesson!"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle spread its wings, soared into the sky and disappeared.
...
Secluded valley.
Two groups of people were waiting outside of the straw pavilion.
One group was Elder Han and Zhou Wenwu, while the other group was a group of foreign martial artists crowding around an old man, who was clad in a quail-feathered robe and appeared to be full of energy.
"The white ferret was Doctor Fang's pet, and you dare to harm it?"
Zhou Wenwu looked at Elder Han, who did not seem to put the matter at heart. Yet, he still stood out to exclaim.
Chapter 81: Vigour of Style
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Master is not here, and the white ferret is no match for them. This group of people looks menacing, what should I do?"
Zhou Wenwu glanced anxiously at Elder Han.
Standing right in front of him was an old man who was dressed in feathered clothing. He was known as 'Old Crane' and was a famous doctor in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture.
The purpose of his visit was to embarrass Fang Yuan after receiving news that Fang Yuan was a well-known doctor in the secluded valley.
Even though Zhou Wenwu had got information that Old Crane was coming and immediately came back with backup, the sly Elder Han did not want to get himself involved, leaving Zhou Wenwu to deal with it.
"Hey! You are a stupid beast with no manners. You dare to hurt others, so there is no wrong in teaching you a lesson!"
One of the bodyguards of Old Crane then joked.
This bodyguard had an immense energy. He was good-looking, but his eyebrows made him looked evil.
Zhou Wenwu did not dare to say a word.
According to Elder Han, this bodyguard, Hu Yuxu, was a [Martial Artist (10th Gate)] who had the combination of Yin and Yang and was about to break through the 11th Gate.
If not for the Flower Fox Ferret, this bodyguard would have already trespassed the secluded valley.
However, the Flower Fox Ferret sustained slight injuries by the bodyguard's moves.
Hu Yuxu was afraid of the Flower Fox Ferret as it was incredibly quick and that he was also unfamiliar with the terrain in the secluded valley. Hence, he did not dare to trespass this area.
Little did he know that the Flower Fox Ferret had gone out with the Iron-tailed Black Eagle to find help; he thought the Flower Fox Ferret was probably hiding somewhere and setting up an ambush.
In fact, if Fang Yuan had not ordered the Iron-tailed Black Eagle not to appear in front of anyone, both the Flower Fox Ferret and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle would have been able to defeat Hu Yuxu together. However, it would be a different situation if the two spiritual beasts were to meet a few martial artists that were as skilful as Hu Yuxu at the same time.
"Since Fang Yuan is nowhere to be seen, shall I charge straight into the secluded valley to force him to come out?"
Hu Yuxu's eyes were filled with danger and he glanced at Old Crane.
He then saw Old Crane stroking his beard. He seemed to have no idea on what to do next.
He was extremely smart! Anyone who knew him would agree, as Hu Yuxu unknowingly looked at Old Crane and the men behind him.
Even though Old Crane brought quite a number of men with him this time, there were only two Martial Artist in the 4 Heavenly Gates who were truly capable.
One of them was Hu Yuxu, while the other was a middle-aged man, standing straight with his sword.
Even though the other man looked like he was in his thirties, his eyebrows were white and his eyes gave a weary look, showing that he was not young.
"So what do we do, Zhang Sheng?"
Hu Yuxu asked. If both of them were to join hands and attack, the Flower Fox Ferret would not be a problem for them.
After all, Zhang Sheng was very skilful and was an 11th Gate Martial Artist. In addition, he had a good reputation.
"I am only obliged to escort Old Crane, in the form of returning a favour!"
Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "Since the owner is not here, wouldn't it be rude for us to trespass his area like that?"
"Very well!"
Elder Han overheard their conversation and nodded his head. "I have heard that Zhang Sheng from Cangshui County is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also a righteous person with good character. Looks like that is true!"
Upon hearing this, Old Crane replied, "Elder Han, I have seen your injuries before. If you trust me, I will attend to you personally and guarantee that within 3 months, you will fully recover!"
"Hmm?"
Elder Han was shocked by his words.
To be honest, he had been treated by Fang Yuan for quite a long while already and has his suspicions. He felt that Fang Yuan was intentionally dragging the treatment, which irritated him a little.
If he had no other choice, he had to let Fang Yuan continue to treat him.
However, did Old Crane just assured him a full recovery in 3 months?
Elder Han looked down, deep in thought.
"Hu Yuxu, go and announce our arrival again. If Fang Yuan still doesn't appear, bring Ah Da and Ah Er in and invite him out!"
Old Crane said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Old Crane!"
Two martial artists appeared behind his were both [Martial Artist (8th Gate)]. Both of them looked alike and were twins.
Both of them were different from Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng was repaying a favour to Old Crane, but these two brothers were just servants and following orders.
Upon hearing his order, Zhang Sheng looked worried. Elder Han flinched but did not stop them.
Zhou Wenwu was left alone to block the entrance of the valley and gave a helpless look.
He was not loyal to the point where he was willing to sacrifice his life for Fang Yuan. This was all he could do.
"Hehe…..a martial artist with inner power, and yet you dare to block me. I must say that you are very courageous indeed! Very courageous!"
Hu Yuxu stared at him and was full of mystery.
As he stared into Hu Yuxu's eyes, Zhou Wenwu started to have goosebumps all over. He trembled and felt a huge pressure coming, making him retreat and fumble over his steps.
"Very good, you are remarkably brave!"
At that moment, a gentle voice came from the valley inside. Zhou Wenwu immediately stood straight and said, "The doctor is here!"
"Gentlemen, you have come from far and been making things difficult for me. May I know why?"
Among the clear voice, a young man took only a few steps and arrived outside the secluded valley. Zhang Sheng's eyes glittered as he saw this.
"Eh?"
Elder Han was also surprised when he saw Fang Yuan!
Fang Yuan had given him a mysterious vibe. He realised that it was not because of his medical skills, but his martial arts!
He also felt that even after fully recovering, he still might not be able to deal with Fang Yuan, which frightened him!
Previously, Fang Yuan didn't reveal his martial arts and looked harmless. As he revealed his Lightness skill, everyone was shocked!
"Zhou Wenwu, you have done a good job. You can leave now!"
Fang Yuan patted Zhou Wenwu's shoulders, flattering him with recognition of his good job.
If he wasn't busy hiding the Iron-tailed Black Eagle, he would have arrived earlier. However, he came at the right time as he could see Elder Han's heart waver, and witnessed Zhou Wenwu's determination at the same time. He realised that Zhou Wenwu was loyal enough to be worth training.
Even though Fang Yuan knew that Zhou Wenwu was forced to take action, it didn't matter! Regardless if he did it out of his own will, it didn't matter to Fang Yuan. What mattered was that at least he took action! That was commendable!
'Even a dog who is keeping guard has to be rewarded if it has done well. Not to mention…..Zhou Wenwu's martial arts is not strong enough and he has yet to attain the 6th Gate. He will still be defeated easily!'
Fang Yuan thought about helping Zhou Wenwu break through the 6th Gate, which was a piece of cake for him.
As the leader, he should help his men out as it would make them more loyal and obedient.
What about the possibility that Zhou Wenwu might betray Fang Yuan in the future? If he could maintain this speed for improvement, Zhou Wenwu actually would never be able to catch up with Fang Yuan and therefore would probably never betray Fang Yuan.
"So, you are the famous doctor in the secluded valley?"
Hu Yuxu looked at Fang Yuan with frivolous expression.
After all, with his experience, a doctor who was not at least 50 years old with a wealth of experience in medicine was not considered an expert.
Fang Yuan was young, and he was not a magical demon with healing prowess. Therefore, he must be a fraud!
"Hmm?"
Fang Yuan gave a mysterious look in his eyes, which frightened Hu Yuxu a little.
"An expert in the 10th Gate, Yang Gate?"
He murmured a few words, shocking Hu Yuxu. "Even though you are a 10th Gate Martial Artist, your energy and blood are damaged, which makes your foundation weak. You look sickly and I can see that there is an imbalance between the Yin and Yang in your body from the energy of your Mind Palace…..You are only comparable to an average 9th Gate Martial Artist. It appears that you made your breakthrough in the Yin and Yang energies via evil means? How many people have you harmed in the process?"
"What?"
Hu Yuxu retreated and cold sweat started forming on his forehead.
The technique which he used was known as the Inverse Yin Elemental Technique. It was an evil technique but one would be able to progress and make a breakthrough of the Yin and Yang quickly.
He didn't expect that Fang Yuan could see through his method in one look.
Even though he was stealthy in his actions, many innocent people had suffered because of him. If they could relate all these incidents to him, his reputation would go all the way down. From the suspicious looks of Zhang Sheng and other martial artists, he knew that they already suspected that something was wrong with him!
"No wonder he couldn't take criticisms and could improve tremendously….."
"I had also heard that Hu Yuxu was lewd and had many mistresses….There were also rumours that he liked men as well..."
"I just recalled that Hu Yuxu disappearance would always coincide with the appearance of the pervert Flower Butterfly. Could he be….."
A few whisperings were heard, making Hu Yuxu disgusted.
"Nonsense..."
He felt wronged and replied with a sense of justice. "I am using the Frozen Water Formula and it is not through evil means. Please stop accusing me!"
"Really? How unfortunate!"
Fang Yuan glanced at him with pity in his eyes. "Even though this evil technique allows one to progress quickly, there are various consequences! After all, you stole your Yin and Yang energies from others. From one hour before and after noon and midnight, do you feel that your Yin and Yang are unbalanced, causing you much pain from their clashes? How does it feel to be bipolar too?"
"Also, you will probably not be able to break through the Earth Gate in your entire lifetime. The things that I have just mentioned are not written down in that technique, isn't it? And did the doctor beside you remind you of this?"
"How….how did you know?"
Hu Yuxu's voice exclaimed in shock, as though someone had discovered his biggest secret.
As he spoke, he realised that he should not have said it.
"Wow!"
Zhang Sheng exclaimed. "So you are this type of person. I feel ashamed to be on the same side as you! Hu Yuxu, I shall not hurt you today for Old Crane's sake. However, if I were to see you doing evil things again, I will not hesitate to stop you with no mercy! Mark my words!"
"Aahh!"
Hu Yuxu's expression changed. With a shout, he escaped!
Chapter 82: Solution
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"This….."
The rest looked at Fang Yuan and was speechless.
Fang Yuan was able to discover such a big secret of a [Martial Artist (10th Gate)] just by looking at him for the first time, and even made him escape in embarrassment?
Shouldn't this sort of medical skill be at the peak of the 'looking' stage of the 4 diagnostic methods?
Among all the onlookers, Elder Han was the most embarrassed.
His heart previously wavered at the same time when Fang Yuan appeared, which caused him to be very embarrassed of himself in front of Fang Yuan.
'Without violence, he was able to defeat his enemy with just a few sentences. What potential!'
Elder Han became a little frightened when he thought about this. As he was thinking, Fang Yuan questioned Old Crane. "Are you also a doctor?"
"Correct. Old Crane is a well known and respected doctor in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture!"
Ah Da, on behalf of Old Crane, was trying to hint to Fang Yuan that Fang Yuan was just a young man and was still considered a junior when compared to Old Crane.
"Oh! Then may I ask you, Old Crane, if you noticed the abnormalities on Hu Yuxu's body?"
Fang Yuan continued to press on with his questions, as he reached a climax.
"Well….."
Old Crane hesitated in his answer.
If he said that he did not notice the abnormalities, wouldn't he be admitting that his medical skills were inferior to Fang Yuan's?
But if he could detect the abnormalities but intentionally hid it from Hu Yuxu, it would be even more terrible.
"Since you are a well-known doctor, you should be very sensitive to these details and should have already detected it, shouldn't you? Why are you still hanging around with such an evil person? Where is your medical ethics? Where has it gone to?"
Fang Yuan was harsh in his words. "Medical ethics are the most important for a doctor! If a doctor is talented but does not have the medical ethics, you will only bring suffering to others even if you are the most powerful doctor in the world!"
"You….."
Old Crane, who previously looked like a superior doctor with his long beard, was now blushing in embarrassment; his fingers were trembling.
Indeed, the purpose of his visit was to actually embarrass Fang Yuan.
However, he didn't expect to meet such a cunning lad who didn't even question his medical skills, but his medical ethics!
In fact, this was what Fang Yuan wanted to achieve.
Fang Yuan had nothing to fear even if they were to question each other's medical skills. However, why should he follow his enemy's plan to put their medical skills against each other?
They could not blame Fang Yuan for tarnishing their reputation as they were the ones who had provoked Fang Yuan first!
"And for Elder Han, you agreed to help him? Mind if I ask you, what did you do? How dare you to brag without shame? How could you treat a patient's life so lightly? Doctors should have the care and concern for their patients just like how parents have for their children. Where is your care and concern for Elder Han? Or maybe you don't have it in the first place?"
Upon hearing what Fang Yuan said, Elder Han was even more embarrassed this time.
He was even more afraid than embarrassed actually.
Indeed, Old Crane simply glanced at Elder Han and estimated that Elder Han could recover fully under his treatment in 3 months. How confident was he about his estimation? After all, no doctors in the sect were able to treat Elder Han and Shi Yutong even had to ask the alchemy master for help.
"Doctor Fang, don't be angry!"
His life was still more important than his pride.
He was thick-skinned and replied, "I knew the principle of being faithful to one. How could I ask someone else to treat me halfway during my treatment under you? Not to mention whether Old Crane's medical skills were good or not, even if he was a powerful doctor, I would still want to be treated by you, Doctor Fang!"
"You…."
"All of you!"
His sentence was so harsh, making Old Crane furious and speechless. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
"Oh? This is bad!"
Fang Yuan saw what happened to Old Crane and shook his head. "Your medical ethics and tolerance are no good, how could you even become a doctor? Even I feel ashamed for you!"
Elder Han's eyelids twitched upon hearing what Fang Yuan said.
Old Crane thought he could embarrass Fang Yuan. Little did he know that he would lose even before the fight. Plus, his reputation was tarnished and he was deeply embarrassed. It would be very hard for him to face anyone now!
"Enough!"
Zhang Sheng drew out his sword and raised his voice.
"We shall not discuss further regarding Old Crane's medical ethics. I am sorry that we have caused much disturbance and trouble in this visit. We shall take our leave!"
Knowing that their mission was a failure, Zhang Sheng did not say much and instructed Ah Da and Ah Er to carry the fainted Old Crane. All of them left in embarrassment.
"Zhang Sheng is a well known martial artist in Cangshui County. He had mastered the Tumultuous Nine Sword Technique and is also an 11th Gate Martial Artist 11th Gate..."
Elder Han said as he saw the group of them leaving.
"Oh? Are you suggesting that I should have attacked them? I am a doctor and not a fighter….."
Fang Yuan patted his chest and act as if he was very scared of them. "Elder Han, you are also an 11th Gate martial Artist. I shall leave it to you to help me and find a chance to humiliate them back?"
Elder Han shook his head with a forceful smile when he heard Fang Yuan's request.
Even if he were to recover fully from his injuries, he was still an elder of the Spirit Returning Sect and it was a serious consideration to provoke another [Martial Artist (11th Gate)].
He could only feel that Fang Yuan was too profound to be understood.
Fang Yuan laughed and consoled Zhou Wenwu with a few words.
In fact, he would likely be inferior to Old Crane if one was to compare both of their medical experiences and skills.
However, Fang Yuan's shocking magical energy aided him. Furthermore, he was a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)] and was extremely familiar with Yin and Yang. Thus, Hu Yuxu could not hide his secret from Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan not only verbally attacked them but also used an underhand method as well.
'The dao of spiritual knights is impressive indeed. With a little influence from a dream master and some combination with the Blood Magic Manual, in certain situations, it is even more useful than a 10th Gate martial artist.'
Fang Yuan nodded his head and was satisfied with how he handled the situation.
"Since the two of you are here already, why not just come in and have some tea!"
Without another word, he went back into the valley. "Also, Zhou Wenwu, I am lacking a few servants here. Please help me find some clever ones!"
"How could I disobey your orders?!"
Zhou Wenwu was happy as he knew he was even closer to Fang Yuan now, making Elder Han envious of him.
If the news of servants needed at Fang Yuan's place spread, the big families in Qingye City would not hesitate to send their children here as servants.
Fang Yuan of the secluded valley seemed to have become the strongest influence in Qingye City.
"Among these servants, there better be some farmers who have the experience of taking care of spiritual plants!"
There were no more secrets in the secluded valley. There were a few acres of Vermillion Jade Rice and a bamboo growing. There was not much left to be revealed as Fang Yuan had already shown off his abilities.
"Spiritual plants?"
Elder Han's expression changed as he heard what Fang Yuan said.
Fang Yuan restrained his expressions and said, "It was pure luck that the few acres of Vermillion Jade Rice were able to grow. I will have to thank your sect for giving me as a gift to plant it!
"Vermillion Jade Rice? And a few acres of it?"
Elder Han widened his eyes.
It was true that the Vermillion Jade Rice originated from the Spirit Returning Sect and many families in the county did plant it. It was difficult to grow them in small amounts as it could exhaust human and material resources easily. The land used to plant the spiritual plant would have to be changed every few years as the planting of spiritual plants would make the piece of land infertile in a few years.
How then was Fang Yuan able to grow a few acres of the Vermillion Jade Rice?
'Or maybe the spiritual land is right here?'
Elder Han's expression changed and observed the surroundings of the secluded valley carefully. He then shook his head and thought, 'No….the land here is probably very fertile, but it is astonishing to grow such a good amount of spiritual rice here!'
'Or maybe Fang Yuan has a secret method specifically for growing spiritual rice?'
Elder Han's suspicions of Fang Yuan grew and he glanced at Fang Yuan. A thought then came into his mind. 'What a coincidence he is opening up the secluded valley and hiring servants. It is a good time for me to investigate!'
This was one of Fang Yuan's purposes.
He sealed the secluded valley away from the public so others would try to guess the secrets of it.
Fang Yuan was taking this chance to reveal part of the secluded valley so as to clear some people's suspicions.
There was a big difference between a low-profile talent who could become powerful all of a sudden and another who had a poor background but rose up to become powerful by eating spiritual rice every day.
He wanted to divert the attention to the secluded valley so that they would overlook the secrets in the Clear Spirit Mountain.
When Elder Han saw that the few acres of the Vermillion Jade Rice grown here were in better condition as compared to the ones that were grown back in the sect, he could not believe his eyes.
"This is impossible! Impossible!"
He squatted and looked at the fertile land, as though he wanted to taste it.
Unfortunately for him, Fang Yuan had not added any spiritual fertiliser. Even if Elder Han had brought back a few samples of the soil to test, he could only conclude that the soil was normal and fertile.
After he sent a shocked Elder Han away, Fang Yuan asked Zhou Wenwu to stay behind.
"Yes, Master!"
Without the presence of any outsiders, Zhou Wenwu became slightly stiff.
"You have done well today!"
Fang Yuan sat down while crossing his knees and nodded his head. "However, your cultivation level is…..low!"
"That is because I am incapable!"
Zhou Wenwu blushed.
He had consumed the spiritual rice daily and his inner power had reached its peak level. However, he did not know what he was lacking and therefore could not make a breakthrough.
"The 6th Gate is also known as the Pain Gate. Breaking through this gate will be the defining moment for many martial artists. Once you make this breakthrough, your inner power will be converted to inner force!"
Fang Yuan glanced at Zhou Wenwu and said, "If you want to rebuild the Zhou family's name and reputation, being a 5th Gate martial artist is not enough!"
The current situation in Qingye City was different from before. An inner power martial artist would not be able to control a situation on his own. Similarly, Zhou Wenwu was not able to handle the situation on his own.
While perturbed, he was stunned when Fang Yuan served him a cup of tea. "Drink it!"
...…..
'If a martial artist wants to break through to attain the 6th Gate, one has to accumulate their Essence, Spirit, and especially one's magical energy. As one breaks through higher gates, the requirement of one's magical energy will also be higher…..'
Fang Yuan clearly knew that Zhou Wenwu's accumulation of his inner power had reached the peak level for a [Martial Artist (5th Gate)]. However, Zhou Wenwu was still young, and his magical energy was slightly low. Hence, he was stuck at the 5th Gate. He did not want to risk making a breakthrough as he would be seriously injured should he fail.
Fang Yuan's cup of tea would solve his problems.
Also, Zhou Wenwu was stuck at the 5th Gate for quite a while and there could be a possibility that he would make a breakthrough by chance. With this cup of tea which Fang Yuan could use against Zhou Wenwu, Zhou Wenwu would not say a single word.
Chapter 83: Evolve
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Chirp! Chirp!"
In the open sky, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle flew higher and higher, and finally became a small black dot.
"Keke!"
The Flower Fox Ferret waved its paws around. Its progress of recovery was halfway, and it seemed excited.
"Don't worry! Nobody can take advantage of us! I will take revenge for you!"
Fang Yuan comforted the Flower Fox Ferret, smiling.
The trouble that Old Crane brought to him could not be paid back by just a mouthful of blood!
Furthermore, he was worried that the other party did not know his true strength, and they attempted to fight their way in with martial artists.
"The brothers who have broken through the Death Gate are still just on par with the Flower Fox Ferret, and both Hu Yuxu and Zhang Sheng, who have broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates, are no match for me... The Iron-tailed Black Eagle can deal with the rest!"
Fang Yuan's battle plan was simple, or even too plain, but it didn't matter!
With the flying spiritual beast, He could fight and, escape whenever he wanted to and could always be on the top of things!
Zhou Wenwu was a local of Qingye City. Even though he could not match against any of these enemies, he could stalk and get information about them within the city as easy as the snap of his fingers.
"The party did not stop at Qingye City, and went straight back to Cangshui County?"
With this information, Fang Yuan's smile widened. "Even though they were cautious, they still underestimated my abilities and think that they could get away?"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle seemed to know what he meant, and with a long chirp, he increased his speed.
...
Two World Mountain.
This was the separation between Qinghe County and Cangshui County. The mountainous ridge was continuous, hilly and was like a dragon, separating the two sectors.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle possessed an astonishing eyesight; it noticed a trail of what seemed to be a campsite and immediately descended.
"Who would've known that they could make it this far, they are really quick!"
Fang Yuan examined the surroundings and it was full of fire pits, tents etc. His expression suddenly changed. "Something's not right!"
He went up and noticed cuts on the tents, flipped pots and bowls, and the blood stains on the ground. He became interested. "Internal conflict?"
At this point, he had no other doubts, and he opened the tent flaps.
"Whoosh!"
A pungent smell of rot filled the air, and in the tent laid two people. They were the martial artists who came that day to look for trouble, but both of them had no signs of life.
"Dead... Poisoned?!"
Fang Yuan looked at the weird smile that both corpses had, and looked at the embers in the fire pit. He remained speechless.
"Who would've known... Someone accomplished what I set out to do!"
He scavenged the tent and found even more corpse within the tent. Accompanying the morning peace in the forest, this was a scene filled with fear.
"Seeing how it is, it seems that most of them did not see it coming and died in their dreams and the remaining ones who found out what was happening tried to retaliate..."
Fang Yuan came to the boundaries of the campsite and found even more martial artists corpses, and their cause of death, being stabbed by a weapon. There were slash marks on the neighbouring trees as well, evidence of a fight.
He closed his eyes, and it was as though he could witness the scene last night. "Only one person has the ability to poison so many on such a large scale, and that is... Old Crane!"
Only this doctor would know of such colourless and odourless quick-acting poison, and he would not draw suspicion to himself because of his status.
"But... Why did he do it?"
Fang Yuan was confused. "Just to cover up for his failure? Not to this extent, right?"
He only took it as a possibility; after all, anything could happen when one becomes crazy.
It seems that the rational madman could only do so much.
Following the tracks forward, Fang Yuan's eyelid twitched.
"One skilled martial artist escaped... This is retaliation!"
In front of him was two corpses with their heads split open. The wounds were inflicted by a sword.
"Zhang Sheng's Tumultuous Nine Sword Technique?!"
Fang Yuan twitched his eyebrow. "Did Old Crane go crazy? To the extent of harming Zhang Sheng? Or was he forced to?"
He understood everything once he noticed the imprint on a tree trunk; it was that of a palm.
"Iron-tailed Black Eagle!"
He called for it and quickly leapt on its back. "Follow this trace, and search the campsite for clues! Don't give up anything suspicious!"
...
"Nine dragons strike!"
In the woods, Zhang Sheng was pale. His clothes were tattered, and the sword in his hands swung about; the only thing that was visible was nine streaks of flashes, as though the galaxy was upside down and flowing down.
"Puff!"
He was fighting the two brothers who broke through the Death Gate, Ah Da and Ah Er. Witnessing his attack, both of them went pale and tried their best to fend off the attacks.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
Two distinct sword slices were heard. Both of them were in disbelief and fell to the ground. Each of them had a cut half an inch on their forehead.
"Puff!"
Zhang Sheng kept his sword. He looked uncomfortable, and suddenly spat out a mouth of black blood.
At this moment, a sneaky shadow pounced towards Zhang Sheng, and a claw landed on his abdomen.
"Pang!"
A loud sound was heard and Zhang Sheng flew backwards, not knowing how many ribs he had broken.
"Hehe... Zhang Sheng, your 'Hunting Dragon Technique' is indeed impressive and can surely reach the Wu Zong level. To be able to withstand until now even though you were poisoned is a testament to the ability of your technique, and you can even kill Ah Da and Ah Er, I respect you for that!"
The assailant had a decent look, with evil in his eyes; it was Hu Yuxu, the one who was scared away by Fang Yuan.
"You gave him a claw on his abdomen, and therefore he is useless now!"
A voice came from the side, and Old Crane slowly appeared. Looking at Ah Da and Ah Er's corpse, he frowned. "Why didn't you attack earlier? I took a lot of effort to train these two subordinates!"
"This person's sword technique is too powerful at first. If I did not take advantage of his negligence for defence while fighting, I wouldn't have confidence to hit him in one strike!"
Hu Yuxu became surprised.
This was because Zhang Sheng wielded his sword and stood right back up!
Even though his condition looked bad, his legs shivering, he still stood up straight like a javelin!
"Why?"
He looked at Old Crane and forced those words out. Every single word he said took a tremendous amount of effort.
"My fellow friends and I look up to you, which was the reason why I agreed to help you. So what if we lost? Do you need to come to this point, to mix around with these kinds of despicable people?"
Zhang Sheng could not believe what he saw, and stared at Hu Yuxu, as though he wanted to kill and torture him.
The Three Heroes of Cangshan, the Guo Brothers, and the Flowery Sword... Every good soul in the team, all their smiles seemed to appear in front of him.
"Why? Haha... You martial artists act like you listen to my uncle but disobey him behind his back, and caused his setback. Don't you think that is a huge crime on its own?"
Hu Yuxu snickered and continued. "Not just the few of you! Don't forget about that Fang Yuan and everyone else who was in the secluded valley that day! I will not let a single one of you off!"
"You guys did not die here, but died in the hands of Fang Yuan at the secluded valley, and all of you were also being ambushed by the Spirit Returning Sect!"
"Everyone in the secluded valley cannot run away!"
Hu Yuxu treated Zhang Sheng as though he was dead, and rattled on casually, letting out more information.
Old Crane frowned but did not say anything.
"Un... Uncle?!"
Zhang Sheng's eyes widened, then shook his head. "So this is the relationship between the two of you... It seems that you, Old Crane, are aware of his wrongdoings and act like nothing happened, is that right? Who would've known that the both of you would be in cahoots? To think that I thought Doctor Fang was wrongly insinuating you that you have no ethics, and now it is clear that you are the lunatic!"
"Say whatever you wish to say!"
Hu Yuxu smiled and said. "After today, you will become a ... dead person! Furthermore, based on my uncle's reputation, who do you think they would believe?"
"You thief!"
Zhang Sheng was furious. "I will haunt you as a ghost!"
"Ah... Zhang Sheng, I initially did not want to bring you into this!"
Old Crane finally spoke.
His face was full of pity. "All because you did not want to follow instructions like Ah Da and Ah Er, and also that you knew too much of our secrets. If you live on, it would be my biggest worry..."
"Old thief!"
Zhang Sheng lashed out. "Was I blind at the beginning..."
"Carry on! Carry on!"
Hu Yuxu focused his inner force onto his palms and went forward. "I didn't like you from the start, and now I shall send you to Heaven!"
Zhang Sheng struggled and wanted to retaliate but to no avail. He was poisoned, and was tired from the many fights, and was subsequently ambushed. He was like a burnt-out match and was standing there with his last breath.
Even if Hu Yuxu didn't kill him, he was unlikely to survive through the night; he couldn't even move a finger now.
"Pa! Pa!"
At this moment, a distinct clapping sound travelled from the woods.
"Who's that?"
Hu Yuxu retreated and was on high alert. He had the look of death, as though he was not going to let anyone off alive.
"Remarkable! Remarkable indeed!"
Fang Yuan slowly appeared from the dense woods, and he jokingly said. "Who would've known that I could witness all these just by casually strolling through..."
"It's you!"
Old Crane was shocked and shortly after, he turned fierce. "Fang Yuan from the secluded valley!"
From his tone one could tell that he had extreme hate for Fang Yuan and wanted to boil him alive; even Fang Yuan was confused himself as to when their hatred for each other escalated to such a level.
"Haha... You could have survived, but you chose death by coming here!"
Seeing that Fang Yuan was alone, Hu Yuxu was shocked, then started laughing maniacally. "Tell me, how would you like to die?"
"Why do some people think that they are too compassionate?"
Fang Yuan waved his hands and a white flash appeared from the forest. "Flower Fox Ferret, this is for you!"
"Keke!"
Seeing its enemy, it was raging.
Seeing that the person who injured him was just in front, the Flower Fox Ferret turned into lightning and pounced on him.
"You beast!"
Hu Yuxu shrieked and knew that it was powerful as he had fought the Flower Fox Ferret previously. He took out a jade sword from his hips and defended himself.
"Alright, Old Crane. Don't we have a score to settle for ourselves?"
Fang Yuan looked at Old Crane mockingly.
Chapter 84: Some Rest At Last
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Fang Yuan, you're pushing it too far!"
Seeing Flower Fox Ferret dragged Hu Yuxu away unrelentingly while Fang Yuan continued to advance continuously, Old Crane was panic stricken. He stepped backwards and shouted out.
"I'm pushing it too far?"
Fang Yuan snorted mockingly, "You took the effort to travel all the way here to disturb me. When you did not achieve your objective, you even devised a deadly trap and tried to trick me. How dare you say that I'm the one pushing it too far?"
"Shoo!"
As he was talking, he sped like the wind and circled Old Crane a few times before coming to a halt by the side.
Old Crane's face turned ghostly pale. His hand shivered and a few bags of medicine fell to the floor as he stuttered, "You…have broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates?"
Even though he knew that Fang Yuan was a highly skilled martial artist with an unrivalled inner force, he never thought that Fang Yuan was such a formidable martial artist!"
Fang Yuan was not even past 20 years of age! Yet he was so proficient and outstanding in both medicinal abilities and martial prowess to the point that it was completely unbelievable!
"Do not forget that I am also a medical practitioner. Those moves you have will not work on me!"
Fang Yuan wriggled his nose and shook his head slowly.
Even though Old Crane was also trained in martial arts like him, he was probably only around the 5th or the 6th gate. How could he possibly be a match for Fang Yuan?
As for attempting to use poison on Fang Yuan, Old Crane was simply making a fool out of himself in front of Fang Yuan who was an expert in this field.
"Ah!"
After seeing what happened, Hu Yuxu who was struggling with Flower Fox Ferret let out a shout. He threw out a Sword Flower which burst into flames in mid-air, sending rays of blinding light in all directions. He forced Flower Fox Ferret to release its grip and took the chance to escape.
"Keke!"
Seeing Hu Yuxu escaping, Flower Fox Ferret flew into a rage and chased after Hu Yuxu relentlessly with vengeance. Even though it was less powerful than Hu Yuxu and could not possibly hold him back alone, it could still get its revenge with the help of its friend.
"Choo choo!"
A gigantic black eagle descended from the sky through strong gusts of wind and blocked Hu Yuxu's escape path. Brandishing its razor-sharp talons, it charged towards Hu Yuxu.
"Yin yang Sword!"
Hu Yuxu's expression changed. He thrusted his sword in its direction. The Yin and Yang energies flowed along the blade of the sword, forcing the airborne eagle to land.
"Sou!"
At this instant, Flower Fox Ferret appeared out of nowhere within the range of Hu Yuxu's weapon and tore out his throat!
Snap!
Blood spurted everywhere as Hu Yuxu slumped to the ground. There was a gaping hole in his throat and a painful contorted expression on his face.
As he lay on the ground, he eyes were still filled with rage, as though he was still indignant that he was killed by two beasts.
"What a great spiritual bird!"
Seeing Iron-tailed Black Eagle, the colour drained from Old Crane's face. It seemed like he knew his end was near.
He looked at Fang Yuan deeply and thought, "Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, he even has spiritual beasts. What impressive achievements! I am ashamed beyond measure..."
"Sigh…I never thought that after all these years, I would actually die here!?"
After saying this, he dropped to his knees without hesitation. A smile appeared on his face and his breathing halted instantly.
"Oh? Did he commit suicide?"
Fang Yuan stepped forward and checked for Old Crane's breathing from his nostrils. His mouth curled into a mocking smirk. Suddenly, he forcefully jabbed his index finger onto Old Crane's heart with lightning speed.
"Pooh!"
With a dull thud, Old Crane's lifeless body fell to the floor like a wooden log.
"It doesn't matter if you are really dead. I will give it to you if you are able to survive after I destroy your meridians!"
Without looking at Old Crane again, Fang Yuan walked towards Zhang Sheng.
At this point in time, the two spiritual beasts who just neutralised Hu Yuxu returned together on either side of Fang Yuan. It was an impressive sight.
"Cough..."
Zhang Sheng spat out fresh blood which contained some parts of his internal organs and asked cynically, "Is the divine healer here to kill me?"
"Oh? Why would you say so?"
Fang Yuan frowned.
"Old Crane has many connections. You would probably think twice before killing him. But seeing that you treat your spiritual eagle and true martial prowess with such secrecy, it seems that killing a person who has witnessed them would be the only way to keep these secrets. And for that reason, I too must die right?"
Zhang Sheng chuckled scornfully, "Anyway, even if you do not kill me now, I would still die by the end of today!"
"True, your core elixir is broken. Even if you do not die, you would be handicapped for life!"
Fang Yuan surveyed Zhang Sheng's injury. Nodding his head, he asked, "What if I am able to save your life and help you keep your martial prowess?"
"What?"
Fang Yuan's question kindled a fire within Zhang Sheng which shone through his eyes. This caused Fang Yuan to chuckle silently.
It was natural for all living things to have a desire to live. It was hence natural for a martial artist to desire to continue living.
"And what would you have me do?"
Zhang Sheng was no doubt a street-smart and intelligent person as he immediately thought about what Fang Yuan wanted in exchange.
"I will save your life and help you keep your martial prowess. In return, you will work for me for 20 years. What do you think?"
Even before Zhang Sheng and Old Crane embarked on their journey, Fang Yuan already did a background check on Zhang Sheng. He understood quite a bit about Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng was an extremely skilled martial artist who was reliable and had an impeccable character.
If not for Zhang Sheng's impeccable character, Fang Yuan would have killed him without hesitation.
"Work for you for 20 years?"
Zhang Sheng was slightly puzzled. Then he laughed and asked, "Aren't you afraid that news of today's incident might leak out? Or I might just leave you halfway through the 20 years?"
"Do not worry, I trust you!"
Fang Yuan generously waved Zhang Sheng's negative suggestions away. On the outside, Fang Yuan seemed cavalier, but in reality, he had already made the necessary considerations.
In the first place he had no intention of hiding the fact that he killed Old Crane so it did not matter to him if the news were to spread out or not.
Even though a known doctor like Old Crane would have connections to several important people, people were rational, and it would be more beneficial to gain the favour of a living divine healer than to avenge a dead one.
Fang Yuan refused to believe that many martial artists would fight him to avenge Old Crane when he could possibly save their lives one day.
As for the possibility of Zhang Sheng breaking the deal, it was even more unlikely unless Zhang Sheng was willing to endure humiliation and shame to his name in the future.
Furthermore, Fang Yuan was very experienced with managing his subordinates. An excellent example was Zhou Wenwu who was now respectful and compliant towards Fang Yuan.
The addition of Zhang Sheng did not seem to be a problem for him.
After all, Fang Yuan was a Martial Artist that had broken through the 11th gate. Taking Zhang Sheng under his tutelage was a worthy investment.
'There is a need to have someone to guard over this valley in the meantime. Even though Zhou Wenwu just broke through the 6th Gate, his military prowess is still far from a satisfactory level. Having just him to guard the valley alone is insufficient...'
Fang Yuan sighed in his mind and then asked Zhang Sheng, "Make up your mind now!"
"You mean...I have a choice in this?"
Zhang Sheng joked bitterly.
If he rejected the offer, he would definitely die by nightfall!
"Great, you will have yourself to thank in the future for making the correct decision!"
Fang Yuan stepped forward and applied acupuncture using his golden needle. He then took out a green fruit and instructed Zhang Sheng, "Eat this!"
"Crunch!"
Zhang Sheng obeyed in a docile fashion. When he felt the bamboo fruit dissolve and flowed to his intestines, he asked in a surprised tone, "It's a spiritual item?"
"Haha...If I am only capable of doing things like saving lives, wouldn't it besmirch my glorious reputation as the divine healer of the secluded valley?"
Fang Yuan laughed and hoisted Zhang Sheng onto the back of Iron-tailed Black Eagle. He said, "Take care and you shall be back to your normal active state within a few months!"
...
The news of Old Crane's death did not spread out immediately. His corpse was only discovered several days after he died. When it was discovered, it created quite a bit of anguish.
Of course, it was just intensified emotions that's all.
There was not even a need for evidence for people to identify the famous doctor in Qingye County as the person who defeated Old Crane. As for the martial artists from Cangshui County, they mostly made passing remarks about Old Crane's death before continuing with their lives.
This was exactly as Fang Yuan predicted. Nobody would care about the death of this divine healer.
"Of course...Old Crane knew many people indeed. There would definitely be some fools amongst them who would seek revenge for him!"
At this time, he was in the valley and he instructed Zhou Wenwu, "Be more vigilant. If you see martial artists looking like they are here to seek revenge, expand all means and kill them on sight! Show them no mercy!"
Although these people were coming to seek revenge, they were also honourable people. Fang Yuan killed their friend or relative so it was reasonable for them to do so.
"Yes sir!"
The fires of passion shone through Zhou Wenwu's eyes brightly. He had successfully broken through the Injury Gate and achieved his dream of becoming an expert in inner force.
If Old Man Zhou had such powers earlier, the Zhou family would have long dominated Qingye City and even Central Song.
As his martial arts prowess was improving by leaps and bounds, he was immensely grateful and respectful of Fang Yuan. He was determined not to let him down.
Zhou Wenwu was very clear that Fang Yuan could help him improve so much and he could definitely also cause him to lose his powers.
Hence, whatever Fang Yuan demanded of him, he made sure he tried his best to deliver.
At this point, there were new additions to the staff in the valley. The lady chefs were judiciously selected. They were very well-known culinary experts in Qinghe County. As for the new servant girls, they all looked incredibly gorgeous and had extremely gentle and demure behaviours. As for where they came from, Fang Yuan did not even have to ask to know the answer.
Of course, what caught his attention was not the girls, but the man who was always sweeping the floor within the mansion grounds.
Of course, this was Zhang Sheng!
His Dantian was broken and all of his cultivation lost, causing his head of hair to turn white overnight, with some traces of old age appearing as well.
Fang Yuan was tending to Zhang Sheng on a consistent basis in an attempt to help Zhang Sheng reaccumulate his energy and strength as soon as possible. As for the martial arts capabilities Zhang Sheng once had, he could only rely on himself to train and get them back.
Zhang Sheng was also a ruthless man. Seeing himself in such a pathetic situation, he changed his name and took a new identity as a servant. He swept the floors daily and also allowed others to treat him like a common servant.
Fang Yuan guessed that Zhang Sheng's first reason for doing so was because he was ashamed that he had lost his martial arts powers. The second reason was that Zhang Sheng had numerous enemies and was afraid that they would bring trouble to the valley and Fang Yuan if they had known his whereabouts. He was indeed an honourable gentleman.
Fang Yuan held this sort of people in high regard.
Loyalty was the important virtue that a leader would look for in his subordinates.
Of course, if the subordinate was very capable and loyal, and did not create problems for his leader, it would be an ideal and perfect scenario.
'Considering his martial arts prowess, I am confident of handing over this secluded valley to him in the future!'
A servant girl approached Fang Yuan with a smile on her face as she went up to offer him some tea. Fang Yuan waved his hand and sent her away without even noticing the pain from rejection in her eyes. Alone, he walked to his training room.
Now that everything has settled down, it is time to sleep!
Chapter 85: Impudence
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Ping!"
It was as if he had fallen from a great height. Fang Yuan trembled and open his eyes.
"Life is but a dream. It's a good thing that I'm self aware..."
Fang Yuan did a visual sweep of his surroundings. Darkness. Rocks. It looked like the bottom of a deep gorge. He could not help but laugh.
"To think that after entering my dream this time, I could become self aware immediately!"
Usually, when people entered their dream world, it was extremely difficult for them to become self aware. Even if they did, it remained a one-off thing. The fact that Fang Yuan was able to do so was testament to his massive improvement in skill.
"Hmm...this is…"
Fang Yuan saw a puddle of blood and mud next to him, and faraway shouts coming from the cliff above. Fang Yuan looked at his own body, and understood.
"Isn't this still the world from before? Even following the point in time?"
Due to him having tested the passage of time, Fang Yuan was relaxed and ignored the mess beside him. He kneeled with his legs folded beneath him, and considered his current situation.
"Usually when people dream, the experience is a bizarre and unpredictable one. It is the same for novice dreamers. But I am different! My first dream world is so stable! The world actually has an intact system in place?"
This world was a product of imagination, and even carried with it a sense of absurdity. But on the surface, it was able to run by itself and had natural laws in working order. This was a huge improvement!
According to Master Wenxin's writing on the Jade Scroll, for an average dreamer to create a relatively complete dream world, it would take a few years' worth of hard work!
"This...it is either I'm prodigious, or it is because Master had already given me some pointers regarding cultivation in the dream world."
"Still, an imagined world is ultimately a make-believe one. All the so-called power systems and paths to immortality are bullshit! No one in Qinghe County would fall for it, not even the low level martial artists of the 3 Prosperous Gates!"
Since everything was an illusion, how would there be any sign of realness?
Fang Yuan reminisced the exercises devised by the Green Cloud House, and found it very amusing.
"As the dream world gradually increases in realism, the rules also have to mirror those in reality...this is a big project. To me, this is a fantasy!"
Fang Yuan tilted his head to one side. He was no longer conflicted. He looked around him before climbing upwards, tracing an opening in the wall.
The slopes were steep and the wind cut like knives. Fortunately, big and thick vines lined the rock walls. They had weathered the elements and were as strong as metal chains. They supported Fang Yuan's weight easily.
"Whew…"
When Fang Yuan had scaled the cliff, he huffed and immediately shook his head.
"Although i can't change the look of the world, or increase my level of cultivation, there is no doubt that I 'exist'. This is my dream world, I am the owner. Even though my authority is severely limited and I have to refresh my state of being, I can sustain my own existence!"
"Now...I should try to influence my surroundings, then finally change the world!"
"That damned method of breath training. I still need to use it for practice!"
It was easy to attempt immortal cultivation in the World of Qianyuan. One simply had to be in good physical shape, and use their celestial blood to absorb the spiritual energy. In this way, one could surely advance and succeed in building a solid training foundation.
Initially when his real self was lost, the setting Fang Yuan gave himself was 'Trash Celestial Meridian', without any ability to sense spirit energy.
But now?
Following his thoughts, a gust of wind blew, and small strands of refreshing aura were pulled towards him, guided into his body through the back of his neck, and straight into the spine.
'Whew…."
After a while, Fang Yuan open his eyes and exhaled a foggy breath.
"Spirit Energy Training Stage Tier 1, complete? Why does it feel so similar to the 12 Golden Gates? Also, it has absorbed much of my knowledge, and memories of the other world…"
"Not sure how good the settings that I had given myself are. Can I be compared to the prodigies?"
Fang Yuan was among the Green Cloud Mountains, where the House was. The place had an abundance of spiritual energy.
After he had completed his Spirit Training, Fang Yuan could not bear to leave. He let himself enter a meditative state again.
"Huff"
A slight breeze. A white mist materialised and gathered as it floated towards Fang Yuan.
The so-called 13 Tiers of Spirit Training were child's play to him.
Level 2!
Level 3!
Level 4!
In a flash, Fang Yuan had advanced five tiers, and had reached the Middle Stage of Spirit Training.
"This seems pretty average to me?"
Fang Yuan rubbed his arm, speechless.
"It seems like in my subconsciousness, the magic of the immortal cultivators in this world does not have a spectacular effect on physical growth. The more important things are the royally issued spiritual talisman, spiritual curse and magical weapon!"
"Senior Liu, it's here!"
Suddenly, lights flashed from above. A group of people rode past on a flying object shaped like a giant leaf. They were the jerks from atop the cliffs.
They had spied Fang Yuan as well, and were turning red with rage.
"This Fang Yuan is the one who killed the Young Marquis. You have to help us deal with him!"
"Senior Liu, do be careful. This person is very strange. He had lost an arm previously, and I have no idea how he recovered. What a monster!"
"Even if this person survives a fall down the cliff, and gives off weird vibes, who cares? Our senior Liu Zhou is a gifted individual who has already completed his Spirit Training and is very close to accomplishing the Demonic Wind Technique. With his celestial body and a 397th Mainland Immortal Ranking, his future is limitless!"
"Huff"
The magic artifact fell onto the group. From above came a suave looking youth with sharp features. His green robes fitted him very nicely and seemed to emit a soft glow.
He had a princely air about him, which used to arouse a sense of inferiority in Fang Yuan. However, Fang Yuan was perfectly composed this time. He seemed totally uninterested.
"You are Fang Yuan? I am Liu Zhou! My peers have accused you of killing the Little Marquis of Hanhai by pushing him off the cliff. All that remains of him is a bloody mess. Do you plead guilty?"
The youth frowned upon seeing Fang Yuan. He had noticed that this bum was somewhat different today.
Especially after he had climbed up from the bottom of the cliff and seen the remains of the Little Marquis. Fang Yuan was not in the least remorseful, which made him all the more unreadable.
"Does it matter whether I plead guilty or not?"
Fang Yuan laughed. He found this very interesting indeed.
'Everything in my dream is in fact a reflection of what is going on in my subconsciousness. In other words, to conquer the dream world,...I have to retract my base emotions, be in control of my true self and cultivate my mind?'
"You…"
Liu Zhou narrowed his eyes. He suddenly realised that Fang Yuan was a real threat.
He could not see any hint of fear on Fang Yuan's face. This was impossible.
A normal youth would give off uneasy vibes after being caught doing something unpleasant. When threatened with the laws, they would break in the end.
The youth before him was an exception. He maintained a cool look, as if the people surrounding him were insignificant bugs, as if he was the master of the sect!
That's right! It was exactly this feeling!
Liu Zhou's eyes gleamed. His hatred for Fan Yuan was increasing by the second.
"How dare you! Surrender yourself!"
As he roared, a jade sword flew out from his sleeves. The magical artifact slithered through the air like a snake and gave off a lethal glow.
"Magic artifact!"
"A real magic artifact! A flying sword!"
A few low level disciples exclaimed in amazement. It was entirely unexpected that their Senior Liu would use such a valuable item against a common wastrel like Fang Yuan.
"Hmm? This man intends to kill?!"
Fang Yuan was feeling the effects of the magic artifact.
He felt the weight of mountains crashing down on him, and the malevolent aura of the flying sword calling out for his blood. Still, he could not resist smiling coldly.
"He feels that I have slighted him and his ego is hurt?"
Fang Yuan felt a murderous rage coming.
If Fang Yuan had been in the Qinghe County of the real world, he might have held back. However, at this moment, he laughed out loud.
"You are as lowly as an ant, and yet you dare to come at me with the intent to kill. It seems like the Green Cloud House will be awash in blood because of you people!"
The art of cultivation required a mastery of the mind.
At this point, it did not matter if he went against the whole world and the immortal realm. It was but a dream!
"There are too many restrictions in the real world. The martial artist will have their souls clouded. How can we get around this?"
Fang Yuan had a sudden revelation.
"In the dream world, everything is up to me. I can kill and burn as I wish. If I choose to do good, I could become the Buddha of a thousand households. If I choose to commit evil, I could bring about the end of the world. This is the best place to cultivate one's heart!"
Fang Yuan had resolved his thoughts, and charged at Liu Zhou without any more hesitation.
"Hmph! Dumbass!"
Liu Zhou's features twisted into a sneer as Fang Yuan pounced towards him.
How could a mere mortal deal with someone who had already completed his Spirit Training, and had magic artifacts and spiritual talismans at his disposal?
"Jade sword! Kill!"
Liu Zhou pointed at Fang Yuan, and the flying sword shot towards Fang Yuan at a ferocious speed, leaving a green trail of light in its wake. It had pierced through Fang Yuan's chest.
"Poof!"
A hole was punched into Fang Yuan's chest amidst a cloud of blood and flesh.
But Fang Yuan did not even creased his brows. He had full control of senses and felt pain at only the lowest degree. He went up to Liu Zhou.
"The Black Sand Eagle Palm!"
"Ping!"
Liu Zhou flew backwards after receiving a blow from Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan paused, a curious look on his face.
"You...you devil!"
Liu Zhou climbed to his feet painfully and looked down at his shimmering robes. He was actually afraid.
"What the hell are you?"
Even the cultivators of the Golden Pill Stage would not have escaped unscathed if they had a hole punched into their chest.
Liu Zhou no longer saw Fang Yuan as a mere disciple. To him, Fang Yuan was now a terrible monster that would not die!
"A defensive magical equipment?"
Fang Yuan looked at his right hand and muttered to himself.
"To think that I actually have such a setting. I was really looking for trouble…"
As Fang Yuan sighed, he walked to Liu Zhou's side.
"Ahh...stay away from me!"
Liu Zhou backed away quickly from the vile man who was immune to spiritual items and magic. He was after all more frightened to see a spiritual aura emanate from Fang Yuan's hand.
"Magical artifacts have limits too!"
Fang Yuan ignored the havoc that the flying sword was wrecking. It did not matter how many times the sword cut into him for he could recover instantaneously. He focused at the task at hand instead, landing continuous punches on Liu Zhou's magical robes.
"Click"
Finally, Liu Zhou's magical robes were torn apart as he looked on with absolute terror. Fang Yuan immediately took the opportunity to smash in his head.
Chapter 86: Immortality
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Hooo hooo..."
There was only the sound of the gentle breeze in the dead silence.
A few junior disciples of the Green Cloud Sect looked on and stuttered in disbelief.
"Senior Liu Zhou?"
"Ah! Senior Liu is dead..."
"How? Isn't Fang Yuan a useless bum?"
"Fang Yuan is no longer the useless bum we knew. He is now an undefeatable demon! His existence only brings disaster. We have to report this to the elders immediately!"
"Fang Yuan...we will have our revenge!"
...
"Idiots!"
Fang Yuan rushed forward and stepped onto the Gigantic Leaf Magic Equipment. With just a thought, he easily seized the rights to use it.
Looking around, Fang Yuan saw that apart from the few followers of the young master, there were still a few infamous and despicable ruffians left. Fang Yuan killed them without hesitation and took their valuable possessions before flying off on the Gigantic Leaf Magical Weapon.
"Liu Dan's reactions are too slow, and he doesn't seem experienced enough in wielding the weapon..."
Soaring high up in the sky with the weapon was an experience on a totally new level for Fang Yuan.
At this moment, Fang Yuan gazed at the bright and shiny flying sword and the magical robe he stripped off from Liu Dan's dead body. He was silent in thought.
Liu Zhou's magical power was in fact impressive, but he was not an experienced fighter. This was especially evident when he restricted himself when he concentrated on his magical power defending himself while also using the flying sword to cover himself. This proved to be too much for him to handle as he did not have enough energy left to use the Gigantic Leaf to flee in the end.
Otherwise, if Liu Zhou had taken the chance to attack Fang Yuan when he held the advantage, Fang Yuan would probably be unable to defeat him so easily.
"This magical weapon is indeed excellent... but what use does it have for me?"
Fang Yuan then experimented controlling the flying sword, causing him to smile happily with a childlike glee. After a while, he contentedly tossed it aside.
"So, what is the use of giving me a sacred weapon!? Even though I can use it against gods and deities, it has almost no use in the human world, how is it even useful to me?"
For a dream master to cultivate his abilities, he made use of the imaginary to supplement reality, displaying his powers.
Master Wenxin could actualise things in his dream world into reality. He could actualise spiritual lands, and even spiritual beasts and lands that were millions of years old. It was truly an amazing and unrivalled ability.
As for Fang Yuan, he could not even bring a single stalk of grass into the real world, much less immensely powerful spiritual equipment.
"Using the fake as a mean to cultivate in the real world, the more realistic the laws, the greater the likelihood of things inside being actualised!"
Fang Yuan muttered to himself, "If one were to construct an imaginary world based strictly on the laws of the real world, there is a possibility it might be beneficial for one's breakthrough in the future. But for now, my abilities are not at the level that can handle the mysteries behind this ..."
The set of skills Master Wenxin passed on to Fang Yuan had several levels. As of then, Fang Yuan only mastered the most basic of them and was already thoroughly impressed and in awe. He could not help but feel more excited about what was to come.
"Bang!"
Just as the Great Leaf Magical Weapon shakily brought Fang Yuan out of Green Cloud Mountain, an explosion thundered out. Fang Yuan felt there was someone or something burning with fiery rage hot on his heels. A voice shouted out, "Thief, stop in your tracks!"
A tremendous spiritual force which contained demonic wind energy crashed into the Green Leaf Magical Equipment. This collision caused it to wobble unsteadily and with its internal system in disarray before it finally crashed to the ground.
"Sou!"
As the magical Weapon crashed to the ground, Fang Yuan leapt up and nimbly landed on the canopy of an old tree by the side. Without looking at the collision, he turned his attention to the furious person charging towards him and thought, "An immortal cultivator from the demonic wind period? What is he here for?"
The main focus of the world was to cultivate to become an immortal.
After completing the 13 Tiers of Spirit Energy Training, one could explore the world and seek out a demonic wind energy that was suitable and absorb it. From there, the cultivator would have unimaginable abilities for the preparations to develop of the Golden Pill of Dao in the future.
The better the demonic energy, the more substantial and strong the Golden Pill would be. This would make the Golden Pill of Dao all the more worth looking forward to.
If one's pill was able to reach the Grade 1, one was almost guaranteed to shatter his pill to form an elemental infant, split and evolve his spiritual will, and eventually undergo heavenly tribulation.
"Roar roar!"
At this moment, Fang Yuan was chased by a great bluish-black ball of demonic wind energy. It took on the shapes of a dragon and tiger, creating a rancorous noise. This could thoroughly shake an immortal cultivator to his core.
"This is a Dragon Tiger Demonic Wind, which is the most inferior kind of demonic energy and it is extremely sparse. It looks like it is a deacon that as no hope of forming a pill in his lifetime..."
With just a glance, Fang Yuan figured out what that was.
Even then, as an immortal cultivator, it was not to be underestimated. It caught up with Fang Yuan in a blink of an eye and transformed into a ferocious and well-built middle-aged man. He looked similar to Liu Zhou, except that his bloodshot eyes were filled with rage it looked as though he could not wait to swallow Fang Yuan whole. He barked out, "You are the one who killed my nephew?"
"Who would have thought one could fly around in the Demonic Wind Stage in human form? This is so convenient!"
Looking at this man, Fang Yuan remarked eagerly.
In this short period of time, Fang Yuan's martial arts progress was also on a roll. He broke through several gates successfully and had already reached its full completion.
Although Fang Yuan did not take this middle-aged man seriously, the middle-aged man could no longer contain his anger and shouted,"A demon from another world?! Or are you an ancient demon from the Savage Period?"
"Up to you to decide!"
Fang Yuan waved his hand and the Sky Blade shot out. It charged towards the middle-aged man like a green sea dragon.
"Zhou'Er's Sky Blade?! To think that his imprints were removed so quickly?"
Upon seeing this, the middle-aged man exploded in anger. Without even using a weapon, he directly tapped his head and shouted, "Go!"
"Roar roar!"
With a thunderous roar, the demonic wind in the shape of the dragon tiger which was circling around him launched itself with lightning speed and trapped the Sky Blade within.
"I do not care what sort of demon you are! You killed my nephew, you will pay for it with your life!"
Seeing that the Dragon Tiger Demonic Wind had already countered Fang Yuan's flying sword, the middle-aged man's confidence was bolstered. He opened his mouth and shout out a small seal. The seal expanded rapidly in its path mid-air, turning into what looked like a small black hill.
"Dragon Tiger Seal, destroy!"
Pointing at Fang Yuan, the magical weapon which now looked like a small hill came crashing down instantly.
Bang!
It caused a tremendous tremor in the ground and loose particles and debris flew up into the air. The trees toppled down one after another.
In just one strike, anything that was in the location where Fang Yuan once stood had sunk several metres deep into the ground. Nothing was spared.
"What a great magical weapon with remarkable power! It seems to match your demonic wind quite well?"
In a flash, Fang Yuan reappeared. He began laughing and applauding.
He deduced that this person's demonic wind was in fact very weak. But because he had the magical weapon, it made him rather formidable. This explained why he was courageous enough to chase after Fang Yuan.
"Erm? He's not dead?"
The middle-aged man was shocked. He just witnessed the area where Fang Yuan once stood got hit by his weapon on target. He had believed that there was no way Fang Yuan could have avoided that.
"You are no doubt extremely unpredictable, but your demonic wind abilities do not seem impressive, why should I fear you!"
Gritting his teeth, he made a gesture with hand and the two dragon and tiger demonic winds abandoned the flying sword and merged into the seal.
"Ow ow!"
"Roar roar!"
With this reinforcement, the seal's power increased tremendously. With the eyes of the two beasts shining menacingly, the seal headed straightforward Fang Yuan's head again.
As Fang Yuan contemplated his next move, he could already feel the sheer power of the force from the magical seal. It exerted a pulling force on him, restricting his movement.
"Bang!"
The magical seal crashed on Fang Yuan's head, causing his body to be smashed into a bloody and gruesome mess.
Just as a smile appeared to take shape on the middle-aged man's face, it quickly turned into a contorted look of shock and disbelief.
In a flash, Fang Yuan was again standing at his original location, looking as though nothing happened to him at all.
"How is it possible?"
The middle-aged man's expression changed. With a wave of his hand, several shiny and eye-catching magical weapons appeared. Axes, pitchforks and so on now charged towards Fang Yuan.
"Ha! Holy Combination of Dragon and Tiger, Flooding Water and Burning Fire, Golden Winds and Smothering Earth! Activate!"
With this incantation, all these magical weapons dropped from the sky, evolving into many unthinkable forces and landing on Fang Yuan.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
By this point in time, the hill had already endured several lethal, destructive and disastrous attacks. Not only was it completely overturned by the Dragon Tiger Seal and other magical weapons, it was devastated by the several spells shot out by the middle-aged man. There was almost no chance of survival for any orgasm living in it.
However, one could not say there was definitely no chance of survival because Fang Yuan stood perfectly unharmed in the centre of it.
"Enough?"
Fang Yuan yawned restlessly and looked at the middle-aged man.
"No…...impossible! Even if you are an ancient demon, it is still impossible! This must be a trick! An illusion!"
As the middle-aged man muttered, he forcefully executed a few moves on himself to confirm that he was not hallucinating. With this confirmation, the blood drained from his face and with a shout of despair, he flew off without turning back.
Even though he had yet to avenge his nephew, Fang Yuan proved too formidable and intimidating for him.
"It was so boring to be attacked the whole time!"
Being on the receiving end of the middleman's offensive moves and being smashed to pieces so many times, Fang Yuan's anger had built up steadily. How could he let this man off easily?
"Now that he has escaped, how do I chase after him? Even though the Green Leaf Magical Weapon seems great, it definitely cannot outrun the Dragon Tiger Demonic Wind!"
Fang Yuan shut his eyes as he thought of a solution.
All of a sudden, the energy on his body began the breakthrough, even causing a large disturbance in the heaven and the earth. Small strings of demonic wind energy automatically appeared, and after he refined them, he entered the Demonic Wind Stage in that instant.
"Let's go!"
Riding on the demonic wind, Fang Yuan was flying in his human form. His speed increased tremendously and caught up in no time.
"This is...demonic wind? This creature has advanced into the demonic wind stage?"
The middle-aged man turned around. When he saw Fang Yuan, his felt as though his soul was sucked out from him. "Furthermore, it's the Dragon Tiger Demonic Wind? Holy, what has this world become? Could he accomplish this just by merging the demonic winds? Could he be the son of God?"
Thinking about how he sacrificed almost everything to search the whole world to master just a bit of the demonic wind, and the excruciating experience from it, immense rage and unfairness overwhelmed his heart. It could even almost swallow him whole.
"This creature is too terrifying, I cannot fight it!"
He already had no intention to avenge his nephew, all he thought of was to escape and hide from this creature for the rest of his life.
"Sou sou!"
Two lines of demonic winds cut through the sky, moving extremely quickly.
Suddenly, the sight of the buildings on the grounds of Green Cloud Sect came into sight. This caused a delightful smile to appear on the middle-aged man's face. He shouted, "Help me master!"
"You think just because you are back here you are safe?"
Fang Yuan momentarily entered a mysterious realm.
All that he had seen previously caused him to enter an advanced level of enlightenment. He suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "Die!"
As he shouted, the middle-aged man in front of him's look of extreme delight changed drastically.
He instantly felt that he lost all his abilities and he was falling from the sky like a bird without wings. The look of pure terror plastered his face.
"Bang!"
A pool of blood splattered on the boulder. This expert from the demonic wind stage fell to his death.
Chapter 87: Extermination
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"That shout sounded like it was from Brother Liu!"
"He went off to kill Fang Yuan. Maybe he met Fang Yuan when he shouted?"
"Who dares to go against us, the Green Cloud Sect in Heaven's Element?"
"Sigh…..unfortunately Liu Zhou is dead. If not, he would be able to defeat the enemy!"
...…
The long shout from the middle-aged man shook the entire Green Cloud House. A few flashes of light then appeared and thoughts ran wild. What everyone saw next was unbelievable.
"Oh my god! What have I seen?"
"Brother Liu fell to his death!"
"Are you kidding? How can a True Cultivator in the Demonic Wind Stage be able to fall to his death? There had been no such absurd accidents in the whole of the cultivation world!"
"But that person is really Brother Liu and looks like he has failed in his cultivation!"
"Could it be that we are under some illusion spell?"
A few other Demonic Wind Stage True Cultivators rubbed their eyes and couldn't believe what they had seen.
"Which powerful person dare to intrude Green Cloud House?"
"Bang!"
3 giant streaks of light rose from within the Green Cloud House, revealing a white-haired old man accompanied by two middle-aged men who were in the Golden Pill Stage and Elemental Infant Stage respectively. The rest of the True Cultivators bowed down to them and greeted. "House Master, Deputy House Master!"
"I am Yu Xiong, may I know your intention for intruding our place and killing our deacon?"
The white-haired Elemental Infant Period House Master looked stern and stared at Fang Yuan.
The House Master understood what he saw from his spiritual will. Deacon Liu was actually escaping but when Fang Yuan made his move, Deacon Liu became a normal human being as his body disintegrated instantly.
Seeing what Fang Yuan had done, the House Master knew from his spiritual will that Fang Yuan was also in the Demonic Wind Stage and was a powerful enemy. The two Golden Pill Stage deputy house masters beside him immediately summoned their magical weapons to defend themselves.
"They are my nephews and they work in collusion with each other. They wanted to kill me, and I only acted in self-defence!"
Fang Yuan stood with his hands behind his back. He squinted his eyes and laughed. "It doesn't matter. In this world, who do I not dare to kill? Who can't be killed by me?"
"You're an evildoer!"
"You're a crazy man!"
"You're a devil!"
...…..
Yu Xiong looked at a few other house masters and deacons in the eye and knew that they would not let this matter go.
"House Master, Fang Yuan is one of the disciples in our sect. He had always been dull and seemed stupid. I'm not really sure how he has become like this….."
At that moment, a deacon reported to Yu Xiong about Fang Yuan.
"A disciple of ours?"
Yu Xiong was surprised.
To him, a few disciples that were still training were still higher skilled than him.
However, after seeing what Fang Yuan could do, he was confused. "Could he be possessed by a demon from another world or is he the reincarnation of some ancient demon?"
Yu Xiong then said, "No matter what, if we let this devil escape today, there will be misery and suffering in future. All disciples listen up, make a Green Cloud Array!"
"Yes, House Master!"
A few bright flashes were seen going into the building under the leadership of the two house deputy house masters.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a green fog then appeared in the Green Cloud House and it formed an array which surrounded Fang Yuan.
"This is your array? Interesting!"
Fang Yuan stood firmly and saw the changes around him. An attack array was surrounding him, piquing his interest.
Previously, he had made minor amendments to his body with just his thoughts. However, he still had to follow a sequence in order to improve and at this point was only at the Demonic Wind Stage.
After all, the cultivation in this dream world was just an illusion and it could not be transferred over to his real life.
'One can only blame my logical thinking skills? To create such a world that has become so tight in terms of security? And even taking me as an enemy?'
Fang Yuan understood the power that he possessed as the 'creator' of the dream world.
The reason was that in this dream world, only he was real and he was the bridge connecting the real world and the dream world. Hence, objects or people near him, or within the influence of his thoughts, would be affected by the laws of reality in the real world.
That was why Deacon Liu became a normal person and fell to his death when Fang Yuan attacked him just now.
"Unfortunately…... My attacks are still limited! Nevermind, it might improve after I gain more experience!"
Fallen trunks surrounded him as he was thinking.
The Green Cloud Array consisted of 5 rows that rotated constantly. It would transform with time and as time passed, the power of the array would be increased, eventually forming an extreme five elements array.
"Fallen trunks…..I don't want to get squash to death….."
Fang Yuan looked the incoming giant trunks and touched his chin. He thought of something and shrouded himself in his power.
"Bang!"
At that moment, many trunks and vines trapped him.
"Kacha! Kacha!"
Many cracks appeared before exploded.
Among the mess, Fang Yuan came out unharmed.
"Clang!"
Suddenly, a giant golden blade formed right above Fang Yuan, making a clanging sound as it landed on his neck.
The golden blade broke in half as it landed.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
The Green Cloud Formation changed again and this time, there were flames.
Fang Yuan took a deep breath and breathed in the flames. Satisfied, he let out a burp. "Old Yu Xiong, any more tricks? Just show all of them to me now!"
"This….this…."
Yu Xiong, who was hidden within the formation was surprised. "Physique cultivation? Was this an inheritance from the Savage Period?"
Seeing Fang Yuan charging straight into the formation with the intention to break it, Yu Xiong had to take action.
"Let there be wind and lightning on my command. Activate!"
Yu Xiong was, without a doubt, an expert immortal cultivator in the Elemental Infant Stage. With just a command, the surrounding was suddenly filled with strong winds and lightning. A green lightning descended and struck Fang Yuan.
"Peng!"
Fang Yuan was motionless. There was only a hint of green smoke emitting from his shoulders and his clothes were still in good condition.
"Oh lord, is his body made out of magical equipment?"
Yu Xiong was frightened. The Elemental Infant inside him suddenly appeared on his chest. He then shouted, "Green Cloud Sword!"
"Rumble!"
The whole formation shook and the green cloud started to fade away. It then converged above Yu Xiong's head to form a figure of a giant green sword.
"Execute!"
Under Yu Xiong's command, the giant green sword fell straight towards Fang Yuan like a collapsing mountain.
Above the sword, lightning flashed and the wind howled. The surrounding 5 rows of light converged to become a remarkable spiritual technique and flowed along the blade of the sword!
Miles away, flocks of birds started to fly away and many wild animals fled as though a catastrophe was about to strike.
This sword was dominating and powerful!
"Mighty House Master!"
At that moment, everyone, be it the disciples or the Golden Pill Stage deputy house House Master, were all cheering for the house master as though they had witnessed the devil being killed by the mighty sword.
"Whoosh!"
The sword then came crashing down.
"Buzz! Buzz!"
The ground shook and a giant crack appeared on the ground. A giant cloud of dust was formed from the crack.
"Hoo, hoo...even though this looks fierce, the Green Cloud Formation will kill the enemy in one strike without any pain or suffering…..uh…."
Yu Xiong exhaled a long breath.
In the epicentre of the explosion, there were cracks everywhere, but one portion of land was perfectly preserved, untouched. This portion of land stood out among the destruction.
On that perfect portion of land, a person stood firmly on the ground, unharmed.
That person was holding a green sword in his hand as well.
"This…..this is impossible!"
Yu Xiong exclaimed and retreated. "Are you an old fogey in the Tribulation Stage? If not, how are you able to control the perfect sword essence as if it is nothing?"
"Perfect sword essence?"
Fang Yuan smiled and went forward with the Green Cloud Sword in his hand. "To me, this sword is as soft as a paper. I can knead it into anything I like!"
"You…..are a devil!"
Yu Xiong was furious and shouted. "All the disciples in the Green Cloud House, we shall work together to fight against our enemy!"
While he was speaking, his Elemental Infant had become a small golden sword and it flew through the thin air. It was a clever way to call for help.
"House Master!"
Among the shouting, a few bright lights flashed to the front. "With our help, we shall defeat this devil!"
"Idiots!"
Fang Yuan laughed and waved his hand lightly.
"No!"
As Yu Xiong gave a horrified look, Fang Yuan struck the Green Cloud Sword out, and released the sword essence, increasing his fear factor.
"Whoosh!"
5 bright lights shrouded the Green Cloud Sword as it crashed down towards the main hall of the Green Cloud House.
"Bang!"
Even though the range of his attack was not was as wide as before, the sword essence that Fang Yuan possessed was the main essence of the array, destroying the main hall.
Yu Xiong and the 2 deputy house masters spat out mouthfuls of blood and were all seriously injured. There were a few unlucky deacons who didn't manage to survive.
"Stop calling me a devil. Can't you address me properly by my name?"
Fang Yuan came towards Yu Xiong and glanced at the group of people who once considered themselves the 'immortal ones'.
"What should I do next? Kill all of them?"
Fang Yuan questioned his conscience.
If his conscience told him to kill, then he could even destroy the whole world!
"Hold on a second…..are….are you Fang Yuan?"
Among the crowd of disciples, one person walked out, with fear written all over his face. Fang Yuan could recognise him as the deacon who introduced him to the Green Cloud House.
"Hehe… There is karma even in the dream world?"
Fang Yuan laughed and gave a serious look. He went near Yu Xiong and said, "Karma is too complicated. I'll settle everything with one sword!"
"You..."
Yu Xiong was in shock. An Elemental Infant appeared on his head as it wanted to escape.
"Drop!"
Fang Yuan laughed and exclaimed.
"Pa!"
His Elemental Infant fell onto the ground like a doll, motionless. Fang Yuan walked up and squashed it with his foot!
Chapter 88: Death from the Roar
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"To be lost in the world, and realise it was but a dream... I can do anything I want, for I am the only real thing here!"
In his laughter, Fang Yuan left the Green Cloud House, which once pinned high hopes on him. His shadow disappeared, and only the raging fire was left behind.
Not long after he left, the spiritual fire engulfed the entire Green Cloud House and turned everything into ash, a few spiritual lights were seen from the horizon, and almost instantaneously moved to the area above Green Cloud House.
A few high-levelled immortal cultivators were enraged after witnessing this scene.
"What guts! What guts!"
An old man with a child's complexion chuckled. "You dare to oppose the Green Cloud Sect? Even though you might be an ancient demon, we will still destroy you!"
"Nine days of rain, pour!"
A pretty lady twitched her eyebrows, swung her willow branch and formed a downpour, which extinguished the fire. "Based on Yu Xiong, although the ancient demon might seem to only have harnessed the Demon Wind, he cannot die and be destroyed as his body is extremely tough. You'd better invite a few more senior brothers proficient in seals and arrays to help out!"
"That is right! I, an immortal cultivator, am the owner of all things, what have I not experienced? I have even dealt with and killed more than a hundred extraterrestrial and ancient demons, one more should be no problem!"
If Fang Yuan was here, he would be able to sense the anger from these immortal cultivators!
This was the confidence that they had gotten over many past victories!
"What's more... Brute force! Cannot be destroyed?"
An old man with his eyebrows and beard as long as flames licked his lips and his eyes glittered with excitement. " "If this is true, this demon is a top-grade material for making magical equipment! It might even be able to fend off a few 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations!"
At the mention of this, even the expressions of those Magic-splitting, Magic-melting and Magic-fusing experts' expressions changed, revealing their greed on their faces.
To enter the Tribulation Stage, going through the 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations was a must, and it was not just once, but once every century.
It was fine if one barely scraped through it; if one failed, he would likely die, which was a fear among those in the world of immortal cultivators!
Even though they are high up in the hierarchy of the Green Cloud Sect, they still have a phobia of the life-threatening Tribulation; they would gather all the magical weapons they could, just to increase their chances of making it through the Tribulation.
After hearing what the weapon smelting elder had to say, everyone started to think for themselves.
...
"Everyone will punish this demon!"
Amidst the shouting, an immortal cultivator of Elemental Infant Stage thrust his sword, An impressive atmosphere was produced as the sword's afterimage and the swordlight fused together to become one
"Chi la!"
This swordlight which had the ability to divide mountains and separate rivers landed on Fang Yuan, but what came off was only a little spark.
Without even a frown, Fang Yuan struck his claw out. The colourful light on the body of the immortal cultivator was destroyed as if it was a bubble and a palm-sized elemental infant was dragged out.
"Ah... My body... Demon!"
A small elemental infant witnessed the destruction of its own body, and even the strength of the elemental infant seemed to disappear; it became a defenceless doll with fear in its eyes. "This is impossible... How did you capture my elemental infant?"
An elemental infant was the fusion of one's Essence, Spirit and Magic at their peak after the Golden Pill was smashed. It had a visible shape but was actually not made of any substance. It could naturally possess supernatural powers, teleportation, possession of another body etc.
But to Fang Yuan, the elemental infant was like a real infant; it could not defend itself. This moment scared the hell out of this immortal cultivator.
"It's from the Green Cloud Sect again..."
Fang Yuan held the elemental infant and had a tinge of annoyance in his eyes.
After the Green Cloud House was burnt down, he immediately became the common enemy of the immortal cultivator world and was hated by everyone. Many others left their mountains and were all after him.
Even though a cultivator at Tribulation Stage was right in front of him, he routinely crushed him effortlessly; he wanted to let everyone know that even though he was almighty, he would still be irritated by pests.
"This time, I would solve the problem entirely!"
With one breath he destroyed the elemental infant. Fang Yuan looked out to the mountainous ridge, looking curious.
This was the sacred mountain of the Green Cloud Sect, and the top spiritual ridge of the entire Heaven's Element; it was well known even throughout the entire world.
The main mountain ridge of Green Cloud Sect laid here.
"Demon!"
"The ancient demon is here!"
After Fang Yuan killed the elemental infant, he did not stop and continued to trespass the sacred land of the Green Cloud Sect. A large golden bell on the top of Green Cloud Sect's bell tower was struck eighty-one times, and it shook the earth.
It was as if the entire Green Cloud Sect was like an awoken spiritual beast, roaring.
"What audacity!"
"A small demon, but you dare to oppose Green Cloud Sect?"
A few streaks of light shot out; a group of angry old cultivators came out, staring at Fang Yuan, as though they wanted to smelt him on the spot.
"Ah… It's the Magic-melting Cultivators that are here!"
"And the weapon smelting elder too!"
"With us around, the Green Cloud Sect can eliminate this animal, and we might even be able to smelt him into a precious weapon!"
...
Outside, many streaks of light were visible. They were the Demonic Wind, Golden Pill and Elemental Infant stage Cultivator, and were all brimming with confidence.
"You want to smelt me?"
Fang Yuan felt rather amused after hearing them and looked at the weapon smelting elder. "The Green Cloud Sect is too much, and you deserve to be destroyed..."
"Destroyed?"
The weapon smelting elder was confused, as though he had heard a huge joke, and started to laugh hysterically. "The Green Cloud Sect had many hidden secrets. We not only have more than 10 masters who have passed the Tribulation Stage, we also have the protection of elders in the Immortal World. You are just a small demon who knows a simple indestructible divine technique, and yet you dare to say such words?"
As he laughed, his expression became fierce. "Even if you are indestructible, the Green Cloud Sect can still suppress or seal you away. Don't you worry, I will then personally extract your soul and use your body to create a magical equipment!"
"A bunch of id*ots!"
Fang Yuan grinned from ear to ear. "You dare to boast in front of me? Come down!"
"Rumble!"
After sensing the entire dream world, He became increasingly familiar with changing the surrounding environment.
The result of that was an invisible vibration that came from his voice, engulfing the old man.
Horrified, the weapon smelting elder lost all his magical strength, shrieked and fell down from mid-air.
A few other elders were met with same fate.
"Pa! Pa!"
Blood stains were everywhere on the ground.
These few elders were not simple-minded; they prepared magical weapons and spiritual talismans to defend themselves, as such, they would still be able to use them immediately even if they were unable to focus their magical power.
Notwithstanding that, the weapon smelting elder trained in secret techniques even smelted several pieces of hard magical weapons into his own body, making his body strong as steel. Even if he were to jump into a mountain of knives or a sea of flames, he would be able to survive. A fall from such a height would mean nothing to him!
But it was still useless!
Regardless body or magical weapons, everything became like glue and exploded as it touched the rocks.
Even their elemental infants lost their ability to leave their bodies. They could only witness themselves falling to death and were squashed with their physical bodies!
Silence!
There was dead silence at the gate of Green Cloud Sect.
The silence was so deafening that a large number of Green Cloud Sect disciples witnessed the scene in shock.
"What... What did I just see?"
After a long moment, a female disciple clad in pink robes rubbed her eyes. "So many Magic-melting elders, and the Magic-fusing weapon smelting elder, and they all just died with a roar?"
That's right! To all these disciples, they had just witnessed a demonic roar; the few elders who were all so proud before instantly fell down from shock became melted and died from the roar!
"It seems that the effect is not too bad! And I have positive control over it!"
Fang Yuan approached the melted bodies and came close to the gates of Green Cloud Sect.
"Ah! He's coming!"
"Leave quickly!"
"Save me!"
...
Seeing a demon who was able to kill so many highly skilled cultivators approaching, the Green Cloud Sect disciples fled like a flock of birds, extremely embarrassed; they had lost the pride of being the number one Sect.
"Hong! Hong!"
After all of them had retreated, a high pitched bell rang, and the ground shook.
Fang Yuan leapt and looked down. The entire sacred mountains of the Green Cloud Sect came alive and gathered at the Green Cloud Sect gate to fuse... It fused into the shape of a large green dragon.
"They could suck the spiritual energy from a hundred miles of the entire sacred land to form this large defensive array?"
Fang Yuan looked at the eyes of the dragon, and felt that there was much hatred in it; it was as real as a human's expression, which shocked Fang Yuan a little.
"To break through this array, one must destroy the spiritual vein and the earthly energy over a hundred mile radius protecting it... Other than recruiting the help of an immortal that has already ascended, or gathering a group of immortal cultivators in the Tribulation Stage, there aren't any other options!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head and took a few steps forward.
Within the Green Cloud Sect, an old man in green stood in front of the gate and appeared serious; he was the Green Cloud Sect Sect Master!
"This demon is too scheming, it is not even afraid of the Green Immortal Dragon Array! It seems like I will have to set up a spiritual seal array!"
He glanced at a middle-aged man who seemed to be of a high level of cultivation. "Also, I will need your help to deliver this letter to the Grandmaster's Hall!"
After his words, he threw a piece of green jade that was emitting spiritual light.
"Roger!"
Focused, the middle-aged man knew that the Sect Master had little confidence in the sect and had to use his final move; to get help from the Tribulation Stage Grandmasters!
Chapter 89: Tribulation
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"The first step for the cultivation of a dream disciple is to be self-aware and then try to achieve that in every dream world!"
"The second step will be then to try to control the dream world!"
Fang Yuan strolled on in high spirits. Within him, the dragon and the tiger combined and produced a Golden Pill.
The Golden Pill was round, bright and shiny. At the same time, there was a sense of indestructibility of the pill. When it formed, it created such an impact that shook even heaven and earth. The elemental energy from it formed a small funnel and the auspicious energy transformed into a Lingzhi. Several different other transformations then rapidly and repeatedly appeared.
"This is…."
The Green Cloud Sect Sect Master almost pulled his beard off when he saw what happened. "Forming the Golden Pill?"
Every disciple in the Green Cloud Sect was familiar with the process of forming the Golden Pill.
But what they couldn't understand was that this devil who had killed many elders was not even in the Golden Pill Stage!
A person's words can paint such a beautiful picture! When the dragon and the tiger combine, Yin and Yang meet…..Looking at this, this pill is of Tier 1 standard! One can use the combination of Dragon and Tiger in the Demonic Wind Stage to form a Tier 1 Golden Pill?
Nearby, a white-beard old man saw this phenomenon and opened his mouth widely. "The combination of spiritual dragon and spiritual tiger in the Demonic Wind Stage is not the last in the list of the Heaven and Earth Demonic Wind but it can form a Tier 1 pill? And…...there is tribulation in there?"
Many of the disciples had the same question as the old man.
They looked up and saw that the phenomenon was fading away. They could see a clear blue sky but there was a feeling of messiness.
Every step an immortal cultivator took, there would be tribulations accompanying him.
Especially when one entered the Golden Pill Stage, he would get a sense of the evil in this world for the first time; the 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations!
Even though this was the lowest level in the 19 Tribulations, it could cause immense sufferings to an ingenuine cultivator and he would have almost no chance to survive unless he had the help of his magical equipment, allies, arrays or help from the sect.
What was happening?
A devil was forming a Golden Pill right in front of the Green Cloud Sect, skipping the process of going through any tribulations.
"Why am I not as fortunate as this devil?"
The Sect Head of Green Cloud Sect witnessed the phenomenon coming to an end. He gave a serious expression and stared at Fang Yuan. "This devil has a very powerful energy and is likely to be strongly related to the tribulations..."
Look at this, it made him rethink about the concept of human consciousness as his confidence shook.
"It's just a Golden Pill, that's all!"
Fang Yuan was in a trance. After being aware of what was happening, he approached the Green Immortal Dragon Array.
"Hou! Hou!"
The Green Immortal Dragon Array looked at Fang Yuan and let out a long cry before sweeping its gigantic body across.
It was huge like a mountainous ridge and the energy it dissipated seemed to have come from the earth. As it shook its tail, the entire physical Green Cloud Sect came crashing towards Fang Yuan.
Even an expert in the Tribulation Stage had to focus and be cautious when in such an intense situation.
However, Fang Yuan yawned a few times and slowly stretched out his right hand.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
His right palm appeared normal and was similar to any other palms. When compared to the Green Immortal Dragon Array, it was like a grasshopper using its arms to block an oncoming car.
Astonishingly, the next moment surprised many disciples. His right palm could actually counter such a destructive move completely!
'In reality, no matter how significant the things are in this dream world, they are just illusions...'
Fang Yuan sighed and grabbed the fog coming from the Green Immortal Dragon Array with his right hand, pulling it forcefully.
"Kacha! Kacha!"
There was a snapping sound as though a rope was under tension before giving way.
The Green Cloud Dragon let out a loud roar of displeasure and its body compressed towards Fang Yuan. It was unable to control itself anymore.
At the same time, the spiritual energy in the Green Cloud Mountain was dissipating.
"Is….is he cultivating the spiritual dragon?"
The Green Cloud Sect Sect Master was left in complete shock and could feel the impending destruction of the Green Cloud Mountain. His eyes became bloodshot. "We cannot allow him to destroy our sect's foundations. Kill him!"
A red long sword appeared and flew straight at Fang Yuan.
At that same moment, the elders, the deacons and the disciples of the Green Cloud Sect also executed their magical equipment, including flying blades, steel forks and axes, pagoda shields and horse carriages…..these weapons were unique and filled the sky.
Fang Yuan did not flinch a single bit as he encountered all these magical equipment.
The next moment, he was overwhelmed by these weapons like raindrops pelting on a leaf.
"Kacha!"
The magical weapon of the Sect Head of Green Cloud Sect was considered the most powerful among all. They were made by forging 9 Days Mystical Metal and 10,000 Years Mystical Ice over Heavenly Flames for 81 days. The weapons formed were incredibly strong and could be used in several ways.
However, as it came in contact with Fang Yuan, it broke into two pieces!
With the weapon of his life broken, Sect Head of Green Cloud Sect turned red and spat a mouthful of blood. "This is impossible…..has this devil's body become divine?"
"Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang!"
As the Sect Head of Green Cloud Sect spat out blood, the rest of the magical weapons came falling down and disintegrated into a pile of sand as they landed on Fang Yuan.
Even the sect head's weapon was destroyed. How could the other magical equipment hold up? Some of the magical weapons were being recovered. Otherwise, they would follow in the Green Cloud Sect Sect Head's footsteps, having their lifeline magical equipment destroyed, and all of them would cough up blood.
"Keke….."
Fang Yuan laughed and blinked his eyes before breaking another two swords.
Since his body was the only 'reality' in the dream world, any type of magical weapons would not be able to harm him in any way.
Even with the overwhelming magical equipment, he was not hindered at all!
"Rumble! Rumble!"
With Fang Yuan constantly tugging at it, the Green Cloud Dragon roared in anger. It slowly shrank in size and landed on Fang Yuan's palm like a strand of noodle.
As the last straw broke, the entire Green Cloud Mountain lost its spiritual energy, ending up a normal mountain.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, a loud roar shook the ground and it revealed a shocking spiritual will. Many of the low-levelled cultivators could not withstand it and unknowingly knelt down.
"Woo! Woo!"
Dark clouds filled the sky. Thunder and lightning danced around as though the tribulation was here!
A silhouette appeared from the sky in the midst of the scary atmosphere. The silhouette's eyes were glittering and glared at Fang Yuan.
With its appearance, the lightning and thunder grew stronger.
"I, Green Cloud, send my greetings to you, Grandmaster!"
The Sect Head of Green Cloud Sect was overwhelmed with emotions and brought a few others to greet the Grandmaster.
"He is the Tribulation Stage Grandmaster who has just awaken from hibernation!"
The disciples cheered and rejoiced.
Indeed, so what if the devil was very powerful?
Their Tribulation Stage Grandmaster was most powerful in this world!
"Devil?"
The Grandmaster stared at Fang Yuan and shook his head. "This is strange…..I cannot feel any devil's energy from you. My spiritual will tells me that you are just a normal person!"
"Then what do you think?"
Fang Yuan laughed and he was fiddling with the green noodle in his hand.
The Grandmaster frowned.
A normal person couldn't possibly force the Green Cloud Sect to such a state, and was even more impossible to casually harness the entire spiritual energy of the mountains in his hands!
"I will not pursue the matter of who is in the right and wrong. I am just going to ask you a question, will you stop whatever you are doing now?"
The Grandmaster then looked at the dark clouds and said with a sense of ambiguity. "Or would you rather fight me to the death and suffer together under the 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations?"
The tribulation would destroy everyone, and could not be targeted at a specific person.
The previous few Tribulation Stage Grandmasters were not able to handle the first tribulation and feigned their deaths. In the end, they had to live their lives in hiding.
Now, with the appearance of this Grandmaster, another tribulation would be triggered!
This was going to be fatal!
After all, even if an enemy was able to defeat a truth cultivator who was in the Tribulation Stage, he would not want to be involved in the tribulation and get hurt by it.
Especially for the tribulations that were in the Tribulation Stage, if a Tribulation Stage Grandmaster were to be involved in another tribulation, he would be completed destroyed and vapourised!
After all, by the laws of the tribulations, the stronger the resistance, the more powerful it would be!
"Reconcile?"
Fang Yuan laughed and shook his head. "You immortal cultivators made many to become slaves and did all sorts of evil things to them. You all forced them to worship you. When killing them, have you ever spared a thought for the normal human beings?"
"Of course, it would be just an excuse if you all said what you all did was for the greater good. However, most importantly…..I want to see the Tribulation Stage tribulation for myself!'
The Grandmaster who was listening to what Fang Yuan said almost spat out blood and rubbed his ears in disbelief. He looked at Fang Yuan and asked, "What….what did you just say?"
"I said….I want to feel the effect of the tribulations and I'm asking you to help me with it!"
Fang Yuan laughed, went forward and waved his hand. The green noodle was flung out, transforming into a roaring dragon's head.
"Rumble!"
The roar destroyed half of the Green Cloud Sect, leaving many disciples dead.
"This devil…..I shall fight you to death!"
The Grandmaster came out of hiding. Exploding the spiritual seal apart, it descended and rushed towards Fang Yuan.
As he approached, the dark clouds in the sky grew denser. Heavenly wind and fire rained down relentlessly. There were also many blinding flashes of lightning that gave off a purplish light.
God's eye!
With the lightning formed from the 99 Tribulations, the Grandmaster was also injured badly!
"Pi la!"
At that moment, many eyes of lightning tribulation crashed down and sealed the whole area. Even those of Elemental Infant Stage were unable to move.
"You shall die!"
The Grandmaster was struck by the tail of the Green Cloud Dragon and his body flew out. Shortly after, he was struck by the lightning of the God's Eye. Half of his body was destroyed into pieces but his face still had a smile.
"Pi la!"
Another lightning of the God's Eye struck down and the Green Cloud Dragon roared mournfully. It was then partly annihilated and landed back on Fang Yuan's palm.
"Oh? So this is the 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations?"
Seeing the 3 lightning strikes from the God's Eyes striking towards him, and the raging heavenly wind and heavenly fire, he smiled.
Chapter 90: Feared Name
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Grandmaster..."
The Green Cloud Sect Sect Head could see that the Grandmaster's body crumbled under the lightning of the God's eye. Even the Grandmaster's magical energy started to dissipate. The Sect Head could no longer bear it and knelt onto the ground. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Grandmaster..."
The disciples of the Green Cloud Sect lamented. Some of them even shrank back.
The 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations was indeed too frightening!
Some of the faint-hearted disciples started to develop doubts as they thought about having to undergo the nine Tribulations after the Tribulation Stage.
"Honglong! Honglong!"
After losing the target, the storm clouds rolled back and the golden rays appeared once more.
"The Grandmaster sacrificed himself so that the Green Cloud Sect can survive. Do not ever forget this!"
The Sect Head stood up and wiped his tears away when an elder next to him pointed towards the storm, his face filled with chagrin, and said, "That...that demon...he lives!"
"What?"
The Sect Head was shocked.
He could see a silhouette in the storm.
"The 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations is nothing much!"
Fang Yuan swept the dust off his shoulders and stood up. He looked at the Sect Head coldly and said, "Looks like it was Heaven's will for you all to become my experiment..."
"Honglong!"
He took a step which caused the whole Green Cloud Sect to shake.
The earth trembled and he instantaneously reached the Elemental Infant Stage.
"Monster!"
The Sect Head winced, "How can you still be allowed to survive?"
In his mind, he had already decided to vanquish this bane at all cost with the aid of the Mainland Tianyuan...no! With the aid of the immortal cultivators in the World of Qianyuan!
Fang Yuan was only one person!
"Honglong!"
Another tremor shook the earth.
From the ruins of the Green Cloud Sect, a dozen beams of light emerged, each one appeared to be old monsters who have reached the Tribulation Stage.
"Even that old ghost is dead!"
An old lady looked at Fang Yuan and shivered, "My illusion techniques are of no use as well!"
"Leave it to us, the three brothers!"
Three elders in yellow robes, who looked similar to each other, stepped forward. "Our skills are more useful in delaying him!"
"Not bad, the three Huang Brothers are array masters. When they work together, buying time would be no problem...we cannot let the legacy of the Green Cloud Sect be destroyed in our generation. If not, how will we be able to face our masters in the immortal world?"
The old monsters appeared to be ready to sacrifice themselves for the sect, "If things do not go well, we need to open the immortal gate and get the help of the masters in the immortal world even if it means sacrificing ourselves!"
"Boom!"
The Huang Brothers brought out many magical weapons which caused the earth to react with a loud sound.
White fog appeared and started to form a maze, layers by layers and trapped Fang Yuan at the heart of the maze. It appeared that the three brothers knew very well that it was not realistic to defeat Fang Yuan.
It was enough to trap him in the maze. They did not dare ask for more.
"What a good array. It is indeed formidable!"
The Sect Head praised, "That demon would not have been able to easily destroy the Green Immortal Dragon Array if it was created by the three of you!"
"Hurry!"
The old lady shouted, "Don't waste the Grandmaster's effort!"
"Understood!"
The Sect Head clenched his fists. He drew his sleeves and started to lead the disciples away.
It was then when the sky darkened and ominous dark clouds appeared.
"What happened?"
The old lady exclaimed, "Who is so careless as to reveal their Disaster-level aura?"
"Kacha! Kacha!"
Thunder roared and the lightning danced across the sky. The God's eyes started to form, almost as if the deities were observing the mortals. The sky rumbled.
"Impossible!"
The old lady let out a shriek when she saw the God's eyes descending upon the maze-like array.
"Honglong! Honglong!"
The tremendous power of the God's eyes struck mercilessly upon the array.
The whole array shook when the first lightning struck it.
It was followed by the second, the third...the lightning caused the whole array to shatter, revealing the faces of the Huang Brothers.
"Big Brother?!"
"Second Brother?!"
"Third Brother?!"
The three brothers looked at each other before turning to face Fang Yuan who was walking out of the array.
"Even though this array can be broken by other conventional means, I might as well test my abilities after gaining this new power of lightning..."
Fang Yuan smiled, "It is time to end this!"
He looked up into the sky where the black storm clouds gathered. A dozen God's Eyes surrounded the Huang Brothers. Lightning struck the three Huang Brothers and turned them into ashes.
"Damn..."
The remaining old masters and the disciples of the Green Cloud Sect were rooted in shock. The old lady mumbled, "Controlling the tribulations...is that even possible? How can someone who breaks all the rules be allowed to exist in this world?"
"He has already reached a level where he is able to effect changes..."
Fang Yuan was satisfied with his ability to control the tribulations, "I am able to manipulate the heavens and earth. Now, I am not far off from controlling the dream world..."
He had realized now that the reason that he was able to undergo cultivation as a dream master much faster than the others was due to the fact that Master Wenxin had helped him develop a strong foundation.
"Being able to reconstruct the world, awakening my true self, and even being able to manipulate the world quickly...what I have achieved in under a month greatly outstripped those normal disciples who had been training for multiple years or even decades..."
Fang Yuan gently waved his hand.
His fingers were long and thin. After overcoming multiple gates, his hands no longer possessed any dead skin and were instead, white and tender. The power to manipulate the heavens and earth was at his fingertips.
"Kacha! Kacha!"
The sky turned pitch black.
The only colours that could be seen were from the lightning.
Green and purple lightning from the God's Eyes rained down. The lightning appeared to be alive and headed towards the disciples of the Green Cloud Sect.
"Wind-Fire Tribulations, the 39 Tribulations, and the 19 Tribulations..."
The Sect Head's face turned ashen when he witnessed the scene.
Even though the disciples at the Demonic Wind Stage and below possessed the ability to recall the lightning to a certain extent, they were unable to do so for this tribulation which was at a higher level. For these disciples, it was certain death for them!
The sound of ten thousand lightning was indeed frightening.
Even the Green Cloud Mountain had been reduced by the lightning.
While Fang Yuan had not mastered his control over the dream world, he possessed sufficient power to throw the whole dream world into a state of unrest.
"Honglong!"
Under Fang Yuan's manipulation, the lightning tribulation in the world of Qianyuan, which had always been just, became unreasonable.
The lightning would strike anyone as long as they are the disciples of the Green Cloud Sect. Even after being struck by the 99 Wind-Fire Tribulations, the cycle repeated itself till all the disciples were dead.
"Demon!"
A change occurred just as the lightning was reducing the Green Cloud Mountain into a pile of dirt.
A thunderous noise boomed. From the nine heavens, a golden ray of light shined through and formed a richly embellished golden gate. Even the lightning tribulations were dispelled when the gate was formed.
The golden gate opened a small fraction and from within, a glimpse of the immortal world could be seen and an enraged intent could be felt.
"It's the Grandmaster!"
The Sect Head and the old lady who were struggling under the lightning tribulation could only weep, "The Grandmaster in the immortal world descended to this world for us!"
"How dare you destroy my legacy! Die!"
The golden gate opened a little more. A giant hand emerged in a beam of light and reached out towards Fang Yuan.
This was the attack of the Green Cloud Sect Head in the immortal world!
"Hmmm? Immortal?'
Fang Yuan let out a smile, "Do you really think that after enduring the 9 tribulations and rising to become an immortal, you will always remain outside the three worlds and no longer be within the five elements?"
"Dream on!"
"Your immortal world...is also part of my dream!"
Fang Yuan made no effort to dodge the giant hand and instead grabbed the hand and yanked!
A surprising thing that shocked all the bystanders happened.
Compared to the hand, Fang Yuan was just like an ant. No! Fang Yuan was even smaller than an ant.
However, he managed to drag the hand and the arm out of the golden gate!
The old lady's eyes widened in shock as she saw a tall and elegant elder clothed in a green robe being dragged out from the golden gate.
"Grand….Grandmaster!"
As a high-ranking member of the Green Cloud Sect, she had seen the drawing of the Grandmaster. He was true to the drawing.
"How would he be able to perform the same move in the human world?"
The Sect Head's expression was grave as he looked at the young man in front of him.
"Hmmmm...It is almost time...after I defeat you, I would be able to control this world and improve further!"
Fang Yuan said. He looked as if he saw a delicious prey.
...
After a few days, a shocking news spread across the world of Qianyuan.
The Green Cloud Sect had been destroyed by a demon with many elders of the Tribulation Stage dead. Even the next successor in line had fallen in the hands of that demon!
The immortal world was in a state of unrest and had even given the demon a name. He was known all around as the Apocalyptic Demon!
Chapter 91: Leveling up
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Yawn..."
Qinghe County, secluded valley, within the stone room Fang Yuan used for training.
Fang Yuan stood up, stretched and looked at his own hands and legs. He chuckled. "In the dream, I am an indestructible, immortal-killing demon, but in this world, I am nothing..."
"The difference between reality and dream is scary... I've heard that some dream masters were so deeply immersed in the dream world that they forgot their true selves, voluntarily staying in the dream world..."
Fang Yuan looked solemn.
In reality, who could say that the dream world was not a real one?
Compared to just existing in the real world, the dream masters who could achieve something in the dream world were better off.
"These types of reparation are a form of escape, and I will never accept it!"
Fang Yuan took a quick glance at his stats window:
"Name: Fang Yuan
Essence: 8.0
Spirit: 7.9
Magic: 4.5
Profession: Dream Disciple
Cultivation: [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]
Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 11) (Able to harness Elemental Force)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"
"Very good! This time after the dream, I was able to gain '0.4' in magical energy, and had quite a bit of dream disciple cultivation..."
He was pleased with the result. As he triggered the mechanism, the stone moved aside and sunlight poured into the room, making him squint his eyes.
"Young master!"
Outside the room stood a young servant, who approached Fang Yuan to pass him a towel.
"Little Pearl... How long have I been inside?"
Fang Yuan wiped his forehead and asked.
"One day and one night!"
Little Pearl had baby cheeks, white skin, a plump figure and looked flirtatious in her smile. He didn't know how Zhou Wenwu found this girl; she was rather thoughtful.
When Fang Yuan returned to the pavilion, a chef served a bowl of porridge made from spiritual rice and a few other dishes.
"One day and one night?"
Little Pearl scooped some soup and proceeded to feed him, while Fang Yuan remained in shock. 'It seems that time passes much faster in the dream world, and will change the rate of how fast time passes? This is a little advantage... Without reaching Wu Zong, I am able to let the elemental force nourish my body. Which martial artist would dare to isolate himself for more than three days?'
After sorting his thoughts out, Fang Yuan opened his mouth and a mouthful of porridge came.
He just had to look at the dish, and Little Pearl would get it for him; she was extremely thoughtful. Fang Yuan could enjoy the life like a master.
"Little Pearl, where are you from?"
He pinched her cheeks, which felt extremely smooth to the touch.
"I... I am from Lieyang County, and was sent by my aunt to Master Zhou's place..."
Little Pearl looked down and whispered softly.
"I see..."
Fang Yuan realised that Zhou Wenwu spent a lot of effort in selecting the servants for him, and as for how many families he destroyed, no one would know.
"Are you literate?"
"A little!"
"Very well, I will teach you a part of a magical technique, and you can pass it on to the other servants!"
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. "The servants of the secluded valley must be different from the rest!"
With the resources he had, it was effortless for him to train and maintain a batch of martial artists. He had even prepared the Xuan Yin Heart Technique for them to learn!
This was a secret technique passed down within the Five Ghosts Sect, and could be used to cultivate up till Wu Zong, which was a testament to its potential.
Furthermore, after reaching a high grade, there might be consequences and therefore Fang Yuan was unwilling to try it out for himself; he only took parts of it to adapt, but now he finally found a use to it.
What would be the consequence?
Fang Yuan glanced at Little Pearl.
Seeing the potential of these servants, if they did not have his help, it would be lucky for them to train and harness inner force on their own; they wouldn't think about the Four Heavenly Gates.
If the Xuan Yin Heart Technique really had to potential to break through Wu Zong, then no one in the right mind would present it as a gift.
After his meal, Fang Yuan became energetic and walked around the secluded valley.
"Good day Young Master!"
"Good day Young Master!"
...
Amidst all the greetings, Zhang Sheng was sweeping the floor, undisturbed. Fang Yuan left him alone, nodded his head, and went to the spiritual farm.
"Master Fang!"
A few farmers who were farming came over. "The Vermilion Jade Rice is growing very well, and cannot be compared with the previous farmed I worked at. We are going to get a bountiful harvest soon!"
They were all sweating profusely and were jubilant at their efforts.
Of course, other than them, the guard of the spiritual farm, and the Flower Fox Ferret had their contributions too.
Although Fang Yuan did not put too much thought about these small things, he still had to guard against those who would secretly target the Vermilion Jade Rice.
Because of that, the Flower Fox Ferret stayed in the secluded valley. With it serving as a deterrence, and Zhang Sheng as a spy, no one could plot anything on the farm.
"Keke!"
Fang Yuan became speechless as he saw the Flower Fox Ferret sit at a side and instructed a servant in green to roast meat for him.
He noticed Fang Yuan and swiftly ran to his side, trying to please him.
Disregarding the spiritual tea and spiritual rice, in the heart of the Flower Fox Ferret, he preferred Fang Yuan's roast meat over the that of the servants.
He tapped his chest, as though he meant that he was hard at work making sure that nothing happened around the spiritual farm.
"You guys have worked hard!"
Fang Yuan stroked the Flower Fox Ferret's head and got everyone around the spiritual farm to gather. "When the spiritual rice ripens, everyone will get their share!"
"Thank you, master!"
The servants were jubilant after hearing this and offered their thanks.
"Hmm!"
Fang Yang waved, turned a few rounds to appease the crowd, and left the secluded valley.
Behind the mountains, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle was waiting and stared at Fang Yuan as he approached.
"Let's go! To the Green Peak spiritual land!"
Fang Yuan leapt on the back of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle and was decisive.
The secluded valley was his connection to the outside world; his real base was the large Green Peak spiritual land.
"Chirp!"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle shot into the sky and disappeared...
...
Green Peak spiritual land, middle of the mountains.
A few straw pavilions were made out of rough workmanship, and there was a simple garden in front, albeit not well-maintained.
"The riches of this world is like a passing cloud..."
After experiencing the world and how everyone wanted to bribe him with riches, he had a totally different feeling after arriving here.
His cultivation as a dream disciple made him appreciative of nature. He came down from the eagle's back and immediately went to check on the Questioning Heart Tea and Flame Jade Rice.
Loosening the soil, fertilizing, watering... Every move was real.
After doing everything, and looking at both spiritual plants growing well, Fang Yuan sighed. "We now have a steady supply of Questioning Heart Tea, but we will have to wait for a few more seasons for the Flame Jade Rice..."
One stalk of rice would obviously not be enough for consumption. Fang Yuan was also a generous person. He would not forget the Flower Fox Ferret's and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's share.
"Simmering the spiritual rice could damage it. I've heard that some alchemy masters can directly produce spiritual pills from spiritual rice. One pill would be able to sustain one for days, and the nutritious value would be preserved in the pill, which makes it the most efficient way of using spiritual rice..."
With random thoughts in his head, he looked at the other spiritual objects and was surprised.
"This is..."
He approached the small platform which in it planted the spiritual bamboo. He noticed a few small shoots appearing from what was a flat ground, and one would not notice it if they did not look hard enough.
"The bamboo fruit has germinated?"
Fang Yuan was ecstatic.
In his view, a cloud of red-white smoke appeared and was absorbed by the stats window. The 'Level 3' behind [Botany] became blurred.
Under all his hard work, he had already filled the proficiency points for [Botany] to the brim and was just lacking in opportunity for him to break through.
The germination of the bamboo shoots fulfilled the criteria, like how he managed to plant the spiritual plants the previous time. The [Botany (Level 3)] jumped a little, and became '4'.
[Botany (Level 4)]!
Fang Yuan was filled with emotions and looked at the description:
"[Botany (Level 4)] - Your hands have now surpassed a mortal's, and through your cultivation of the spiritual plants, the chances of a special trait evolving have increased, and now there is some chance of awakening some special abilities."
"[Botany (Level 4)], indeed requires the experience of planting a high-level spiritual plant!"
Fang Yuan clenched his fist and had a rough plan to break through his [Medicine].
"Increasing in chances of special traits evolving. Does that mean that my spiritual plants now have a higher probability to be evolved?"
He thought through carefully about the description and focused on every word. "Chance of awakening some astonishing ability? What does that mean?"
The system on him was not sentient and had no mind of its own; he had to base on his own deductions, and the answer would not just appear.
The surprised Fang Yuan looked at other spiritual plants, hoping for another such thing to happen.
However, this time, only one of the many germinated.
"The growth of the spiritual bamboo may take hundreds of years... Even though I might have the spiritual fertilizer, there is only so much time I can expedite..."
Walking out of the garden, Fang Yuan sighed.
"Maybe... The only hope is to keep increasing my [Botany] Level!"
Since he could increase the chances of evolving a special trait, shortening the growth period of the plant could be a possibility?!
Fang Yuan's thoughts ran wild. If he could plant plants that require hundreds or thousands of years in a matter of years, then his [Botany] would be the top of the world!
Of course, the condition was that he had to keep his skill a secret, or cover and hide from spies.
With some motivation, Fang Yuan went to take a look at the red-eyed white kind bird.
It decided to not eat any food and became skinnier. It was pitiful, but Fang Yuan had no thoughts of releasing it. If it did not agree to be tamed, he would let it die here!
Chapter 92: Harvest
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Even though the Red-Eyed White King Bird did not want to eat, Fang Yuan still had his ways to deal with it.
He could use underhand means to ensure its survival and slowly deal with it.
After all, he had no time limit, and would not lose anything by dragging on.
But it seems that he did not have to go to such extremes; he had to use death to obliterate the king bird's pride.
...
Half a month later.
"Start harvesting!"
Zhou Wenwu personally led the people, and he was filled with emotions.
The spiritual farmers all agreed and began to harvest the ripened rice.
This batch of rice was about to mature; even though Fang Yuan guarded the secret of the spiritual fertilizer closely and did not use it this time, it only delayed the period of maturity by a little.
At this moment, the entire Vermilion Jade Rice farm was filled in red. All the farmers and servants rolled up their sleeves and started to cut the rice stalks; every single rice stalk was harvested.
After working for so long in this rice field, they all knew the value of this spiritual farm.
"The harvest from this spiritual farm is more than 1300 pounds! Congratulations, Doctor Fang!"
Outside the farm, Fang Yuan stood next to Elder Han, both witnessing the harvest. Elder Han chuckled.
The Spirit Returning Sect's entire spiritual farm could not match the amount of harvest that Fang Yuan had, which made Elder Han envious.
'However... Our sect grows not only spiritual rice, but other spiritual plants as well, and therefore the secluded valley cannot compare to it... A pity that Sect Master sacrificed half of our savings on Lin Leiyue...'
Thinking of this, the stingy Elder Han felt a pain in his heart.
After the pain, he looked at the bundles of harvest and began to worry.
Even though the secluded valley only produced spiritual rice, it was still a form of spiritual plant production!
Furthermore, on such a large scale, they could be a stronghold themselves. Thinking about how he could sense the Xuan Yin Heart Technique on all the servants made him even more worried.
'Techniques, spiritual rice... Even though he only rewards those who work hard, this doctor is rather generous. If they become more developed, they will surely affect the reputation of the Spirit Returning Sect...'
With spiritual plants, techniques and rewards, this was no different from a small sect!
Furthermore, from certain angles, it might even be better than a sect.
After all, with fewer things to worry, they could escape if they wanted to.
Elder Han thought to himself. Even the direct disciples of the Spirit Returning Sect might not be able to learn such a high-levelled technique like the Xuan Yin Heart Technique, even though they might only be at Grade 6.
Not to mention the reward of spiritual rice for hard work.
'With all these... I'm afraid that these servants will be extremely loyal, and even the spies might be pulled over as well!'
If the spies working undercover were not blackmailed or forced to carry out their duties and be loyal, how many of them would be able to resist such temptations?
Unless his family members were captured, or if he did not have common sense, then he might be able to.
Elder Han looked at Zhou Wenwu, who seemed more and more like a lackey and sighed. It was as though he could see the future of Qingye City.
"What are you thinking about, Elder Han?"
Fang Yuan seemed to have detected Elder Han's silence and asked cheerfully.
"Keke... I never thought that the secluded valley would have such abundance of supplies, and was just thinking about it!"
Elder Han never thought that the Doctor from the secluded valley was one that he could work with well, especially after the news of the death of Old Crane!
"I see!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head. "I've newly concocted a few medicines. Also, you are fit beyond my expectations, and just need to rest well after my treatment. After consuming the medicine that I have prescribed, after a hundred days, you will recover fully!"
This Earth Gate test subject was of little value to Fang Yuan now. After all, he himself was already a [Martial Artist (11th Gate)], and only being a [Martial Artist (12th Gate)] or Wu Zong could satisfy his needs.
Furthermore, after getting rid of Elder Yan, if Elder Han were to get into an accident here, he would draw unnecessary attention to the secluded valley.
Shi Yutong was not a fool, she did not need evidence to have her way!
"What... This is good news, thank you, doctor! Thank you, doctor!"
To Elder Han, this was exceptional news, and he continuously thanked Fang Yuan. "Don't worry, I will order for those spiritual objects to be sent here after I am back!"
"Mmm!"
Fang Yuan did not reply, but inside he was pleased.
There was a small plot of spiritual land within Spirit Returning Sect, and there were many more species of spiritual plants there than his own collection; furthermore, there were professionals taking care of it, which meant that it might even be of better quality than those at Green Peak spiritual land.
After levelling up his [Botany], he needed experience like this to fill up his experience bar.
Furthermore, there was the special ability of a [Botany (Level 4)], which he wanted to try out.
"Master!"
After completing acupuncture for Elder Han, it was his final use of him as a test subject. He made Elder Han suffer an immense amount of pain before letting him go. Afterwards, Zhou Wenwu happily reported, "The harvest for the spiritual valley is completed, and I have personally witnessed them stored the last bag of harvest into the storage room. We have a total of 1,500 pounds of harvest, rice stalks..."
"Mmm..."
Fang Yuan brewed a cup of tea, and as he drank it he was listening to Zhou Wenwu report, and from time to time nodded his head.
Zhou Wenwu swallowed his saliva, his tummy rumbling. He did not dare to ask for a cup of tea, which left a deep impression in him.
"We have these unshelled rice, and after shelling them we would get 1,300 pounds of spiritual rice... Take 130 pounds with you, be it keep it all for yourself, or distribute it to the rest, it's all up to you!"
"Also, keep the shells, for we can use it to feed chickens and ducks next time..."
Fang Yuan casually instructed him, like a landlord.
"Yes yes..."
Zhou Wenwu agreed, but inside he was confused. "The shell of the Vermilion Jade Rice is even more nutritious than normal rice... Yet master would not let humans eat it, but feed it to chickens and ducks? Gee... I wonder how would their meat taste like once they've grown up?"
After thinking, his mouth became dry.
"Also, the rules regarding reward and punishment for the servants must also be decided!"
Fang Yuan took Zhou Wenwu as a housekeeper. "Everyone in the secluded valley can learn and break through the first three Gates of the Xuan Yin Heart Technique. As for the 2 Peaceful Gates, 3 Perilous Gates, the 4 Heavenly Gates and even the method to break through to Wu Zong, these must be kept secret and only taught when one has made some significant contribution!"
"Of course!"
Zhou Wenwu nodded his head.
In fact, after finding out that Fang Yuan had no reservations in passing down the Xuan Yin Heart Technique to the servants, Zhou Wenwu abandoned his family martial art technique and converted to the Xuan Yin Heart Technique. Even when Fang Yuan mentioned to him the negative side effects that might be present, he still did not put that to mind.
After all, he knew his own martial arts and if he did not change to a higher-level technique, it was impossible for him to break through the Death Gate, into the 4 Heavenly Gates!
As for Wu Zong, he only dared to dream about it, and therefore was not worried about the possible side effects.
Zhou Wenwu was ultimately different from the rest of the servants; Fang Yuan did pass down to him the entire method of attaining the 4 Heavenly Gates. The spiritual rice was a great support to his intense training, and all these made him even more loyal to Fang Yuan.
After all, where could he find such a good boss?
...
After settling the minor stuff in the valley, Fang Yuan left the secluded valley, rode the Iron-tailed Black Eagle and arrived at the Green Peak spiritual land.
Other than the secluded valley, the garden here also had a supply of Vermilion Jade Rice, which he personally planted.
Based on logical sense, with the help of the spiritual land and spiritual fertilizer, it should have been matured and ready for harvest.
Only because he accidentally attained a higher level in [Botany] did he delay it until now.
As he arrived at the farm, his eyes were filled with a bright flame-colour.
He initially planted 5 sections of Vermilion Jade Rice here, and the initially healthy Vermilion Jade Rice was now withered and replaced by the Flame Jade Rice, as though it had sucked all the essence from the Vermilion Jade Rice.
"One, two, three... six, seven!"
Fang Yuan counted, and the smile on his face grew. "Seven stalks of Flame Jade Rice! Haha... [Botany (Level 4)] is indeed impressive, the chances of the special trait evolving are much higher than before!"
Without hesitation, he went up and harvested the 7 stalks of Flame Jade Rice and the remaining Vermilion Jade Rice. In a moment, Fang Yuan had a small bag of red and round spiritual rice the size of a spiritual pill.
"This is Flame Jade Rice?"
He picked up a handful and examined closely.
This rice was still unshelled, and although the bag was covering the spiritual rice, it seemed to be unable to cover its radiance.
"Although I have not seen a spiritual pill as described in the legends, I'm sure I could fool people if I bring this out!"
Dissipating his magical energy, Fang Yuan could sense the thick spiritual energy all around.
"However... I don't know about the qualities of this Flame Jade Rice. I can't feed this to the Flower Fox Ferret like how I did with the Vermilion Fruit, can I?"
Fang Yuan had mixed feelings. Food was of extreme importance to humans. He had plans to eat the Flame Jade Rice as a staple in the future and had to be more stringent in his checks and be clear of its medicinal properties in order to eat it safely.
"Other than this, I still have to investigate the properties of the spiritual wisteria and the Cracked Ice Fruit the found at the king bird's nest..."
How many spiritual objects were there in the world?
With the teachings of Master Wenxin, Fang Yuan still did not dare to claim that he had known all of it.
The spiritual plants found at the king bird's nest still did not germinate after a long time, which made Fang Yuan suspect his own [Botany] skills. He did not fulfil certain important criteria for the germination of spiritual plants and had to do some research on his own to find out on his own.
"Since the next batch of Vermilion fruits in the king bird's nest has ripened, why not take a trip there..."
Fang Yuan touched his chin.
Since the journey to Lieyang County, he had experienced the interesting world, especially the encounter with spiritual knights, which sparked interest in him.
Furthermore, the Blood Killer who died in his hands did not seem to be a simple guy Fang Yuan had to do more investigation on the Blood Killer.
"The spiritual knight who assisted Shi Yutong the other time... Who would've known that Shi Yutong could not only recruit the help of an alchemy master but also able to find such a helper?"
Fang Yuan shook his head and knew that his ability was far from those strong powers.
Chapter 93: Secluded Mountain Prefecture
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
It was dawn.
The rain had stopped and the air was humid. The scenery was clear.
A group of carriages were moving steadily along the wet pathway. There was a youth dressed in green and his eyes were glittering. He seemed to be excited and was engrossed in a discussion. "We will be reaching the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soon!"
"Xia country is vast and geographically, it can be separated into 3 Prefectures…... Lieyang, Qinghe and Cangshui counties belong to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and the Prefecture City is at the heart of it. This city is way more prosperous compared to other counties and the master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is the most powerful in the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture! Legend has it that he is a spiritual knight who can harness nature's elements!"
His face was flushed with excitement, as though this was his first trip away from home. With a little pride, he added. "I have a small family business in the city..."
"Haha…..Master Yu, you are too humble! How can the scale of your family business be considered small?"
Fang Yuan was dressed in a thick clothing as he rode a green donkey by the side of the carriage. He was enjoying his chat with the youth in green.
Inside, he was still displeased. 'It looks like Elder Han is still being cautious of me…..Unfortunately, he thinks he can cheat me, but he doesn't know that he is actually helping me instead….'
After Elder Han had recovered, without hesitation, he sent a few spiritual objects as payment.
However, what made Fang Yuan speechless was that even though after Elder Han had seen him growing the Vermillion Jade Rice, it was obvious that he did not want Fang Yuan to grow stronger. However, the spiritual objects Fang Yuan received from him was not a common type like the Emerald Grass. It was a Thousand Year Frozen Fruit and similar other plants which required a few hundred to a thousand of years for the plants to grow to produce their effects!
Although such spiritual plants were considered precious, Fang Yuan would probably not have the chance to witness these plants to bear fruits. He had no choice but to accept them anyway.
The amount Elder Han paid for his treatment was considerably great in terms of the spiritual plants he gave.
Unfortunately, Elder Han didn't know that Fang Yuan would be satisfied with just the Vermillion Fruit as growing it successfully would aid Fang Yuan in strengthening his [Botany].
'Of course…...to reduce the time taken for the spiritual plants to grow, the spiritual fertiliser can only help to a certain limit. I will still have to improve my botany skills. Furthermore, there's no way for me to obtain any more spiritual plants from the Spirit Returning Sect. I hope there will be takeaways from the Prefecture City!'
With that thought, he left the Flower Fox Ferret back in the secluded valley and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle back in the Green Peak to guard these places. On the other hand, he was carefree as he rode a green donkey to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture.
The trip there was relaxing and smooth, although they encountered some troubles along the way. After doing a few good deeds, he was noticed by the hired master who was passing by in a caravan. They were impressed by Fang Yuan's martial arts skills and invited him to travel together.
This caravan, which was called White Cloud, was also heading towards the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and the youth named 'Yu Xinlou' was the hired master of the caravan. Fang Yuan hesitantly accepted their invitation under pressure and joined the caravan. Not long after, they struck up a conversation.
The Secluded Mountain Prefecture City was of a different level compared to the other counties. Disregarding everything else, the young people from the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City would be more well-informed as compared to those in the other counties.
'Even the disciple in the Spirit Returning Sect might not know about spiritual knights…...For myself, if I didn't read a few books about it, I would probably be ignorant now….."
Fang Yuan felt slightly ashamed of himself before Yu Xinlou's voice was heard.
"Brother Fang, since you are able to achieve the 6th Gate by the age of 20, you are considered a talent in this Prefecture City. You might have the chance to get a glimpse of Wu Zong in future….."
To Yu Xinlou, being a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)] was very impressive to the point it was hard to put in words. In comparison, he himself was not even a [Martial artist (4th Gate)], which meant that Fang Yuan was way stronger than him.
"Brother Yu, you think too highly of me. There are many other powerful people in the Prefecture City. With my cultivation level, how am I considered powerful?"
Fang Yuan smiled and glanced at the old man who was riding the horse carriage.
This old man was a Martial Artist (9th Gate) and had the cultivation level of the 4 Heavenly Gates. He should be the secret bodyguard of this caravan.
As the conversation took place, the old man had been worriedly keeping an eye on him. However, he could neither tell how powerful Fang Yuan was nor could he tell that his own cultivation level had been exposed to Fang Yuan.
'It looks like…..Yu Xinlou doesn't know that this old man is the most highly skilled in the whole caravan, but the few inner force experts are all aware…..Hehe, was he raised by a pig?'
Fang Yuan laughed in his heart and pitied Yu Xinlou.
He was not entirely convinced that Yu Xinlou deserved to be the rightful heir to the caravan.
'With my magical energy, I can make use of the Blood Magic Manual and a small trick from my dream disciple cultivation to hide my cultivation level easily…..'
Seeing that it was effective even against a 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist, Fang Yuan was convinced that his trick to hide his cultivation level was worth it.
At least, without elemental force, no one could see through his concealment.
'What if I encounter Shi Yutong? The chance of my cover being blown will be 50%...'
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and was casually talking to Yu Xinlou. At the same time, in his mind, he was trying to figure out the secrets of his dream world. Suddenly, a cheer was heard. "We have reached the Prefecture City!"
"Oh! We are here already?"
Fang Yuan was surprised. He nudged his donkey to approach the front of the carriage.
After a turn, a gigantic city appeared right in front of Fang Yuan's eyes.
The first impression Fang Yuan had on the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City were the tall city walls!
Dark and tall, they were majestic structures stuck into the ground. The shortest wall was at least 35 yards in height!
What was the concept behind building such tall walls?
Even a martial artist who had inner force would find it impossible to climb over the tall wall to enter the city!
"This scene is majestic, isn't it?"
Yu Xinlou saw the scene and smiled wide. "This Secluded Mountains Prefecture City was personally designed and overseen by the first generation prefecture head. The old man was an array master, hence not only are these city walls touching the clouds, their foundations have spiritual arrays carved into them, making them extremely sturdy and without any weakness... There are 3 layers, namely the outer district, inner district, and central district. 10 thousand families live here, making it the most populated place in the northern area of Xia Country!"
"Hmm, this city does live up to its name!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head in agreement. It was the first time he had seen such an ancient majestic city, greatly shocking him.
Especially…..
'So this city was built by the first prefecture master, the array master? No wonder I could feel a mild pressure…..It seemed that the rumours of his doings are true too….'
"The current prefecture master is a spiritual knight, I wonder how powerful he is!"
Fang Yuan silently sighed.
A true spiritual knight would be different from him or Blood Killer. Having already consolidated his magical energy and obtained elemental energy, he would be able to produce powerful spells with a wave of his hand.
On one hand, an array master could build such big city. On the other hand, a spiritual knight could become powerful through the use of spiritual spells. Harnessing energy from heaven and earth, he could single-handedly match against thousand-men strong troops.
'If the chance of my cover being blown by a Wu Zong is 50%, then the chance of my cover being blown by a spiritual knight will be near to 100%. I have to be more careful...'
As they got closer to the city, the city wall loomed above them.
Outside the city entrance, the city gates were so huge that it looked like a mouth of a giant monster. The carriage was like an ant compared to the size of the city gate.
Around the city gate and above the city walls, there were many martial artists in black armour patrolling the area. All of them looked fierce and were sharp, making it obvious that they were all well trained.
"Inner power! The weakest martial artist here is probably at the 4th Gate!"
Fang Yuan saw this scene and his heart wavered.
The defence in this city was much stronger than that of in the Spirit Returning Sect.
"These are the soldiers of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture and they are under direct orders from the prefecture master. I strongly urge you all not to provoke them! In this city, you can provoke anyone but not any of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master's men, or else you will die terribly!"
Yu Xinlou reminded everyone in a soft voice.
"Don't worry, I will be mindful of this!"
Fang Yuan laughed and entered the city with the others after paying an entrance fee.
"Wow!"
After they entered the city, they were welcomed by the lively bustle of the city.
The main road was built with green rocks and was wide enough to fit a few carriages. There was bustling everywhere and there were many stalls on the two sides of the road. There were many street vendors selling different kinds of things; there were too many choices to choose from.
"This city is much more prosperous as compared to the other counties!"
Fang Yuan sighed.
"The Secluded Mountain Prefecture is usually not so busy. Looks like Brother Fang you came at the right time!"
Yu Xinlou laughed and said, "It will be the prefecture master's 300th birthday soon. There will be many guests who are coming from everywhere to give their well wishes. Also, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Business Council would be taking this chance to hold a few large-scaled fairs to attract every other businessman from other parts of the country to come here. You can also find foreigners here…..This place will become the busiest in this country!"
"Oh? Really?"
Fang Yuan was surprised.
He lived in seclusion for many years and was clueless about such big events. It seemed that Zhou Wenwu did not know that the prefecture master's birthday banquet would be one of Fang Yuan's considerations.
After all, his level was still low and his experience was limited to Qingye City. He would probably not be able to escape the shackles of the Qinghe County.
'But... 300 years old?'
With Master Wenxin's inheritance and the Blood Magic Technique, Fang Yuan was rather familiar with spiritual knights.
A normal Wu Zong, even if he doesn't make any further breakthroughs, can basically live for 200 years, and it's even longer for spiritual knights, with a lifespan of about 300 years at the initial stages.
'According to the words of my master, it is extremely difficult for a spiritual knight to progress to the next level. It looks like this prefecture master does not have much progress in his cultivation. Otherwise, he would not be cooped here…...It seems like his life is about to end soon? Someone else is going to take over the position as the prefecture master soon?'
Thinking about this, he was shocked.
Seeing how packed the prefecture city was, it seemed that it would not be just a simple birthday celebration.
'Looks like there is going to be trouble brewing in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture...but how is this my business?'
After rejecting and thanking Yu Xinlou's invitations many times, Fang Yuan left on his own. Looking at the prosperous street, he smiled to himself…...
Chapter 94: Business Centre
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
In the central of Prefecture City, there were many treasures, talents and potentials. The city master's birthday hyped up the entire place, making it busier than ever. People from all places came here, and treasures from around the world made their way here too.
Fang Yuan did not rush to trade for spiritual objects and plants, but rather, made a point to look for a hostel to stay for the night.
The Secluded Mountain Prefecture had a curfew. By midnight, the people who had not returned to their lodging, be it, tourists, residents or famous people, would be thrown in jail and become a slave!
It was only reasonable for him to worry about a place to stay for the night.
Due to the overwhelming response from people all around the world, every hostel was full, and the rental price went up a few folds due to the high demand.
After visiting a few other hostels, he realised that they were all full. Fang Yuan became irritated and wrecked a residence, took out money as compensation and booked the entire building.
The head of the household happily received the money and accompanied the entire family to the outskirts of the city to stay there temporarily and let the entire house out to Fang Yuan. While leaving, he explained the situation to the trooper on patrol.
"Hu..."
Fang Yuan walked in and closed the door. He felt a little bored.
"The Secluded Mountain Prefecture City will surely earn loads this time. Who knows if this might be the end of their bad luck or the last of their good luck..."
After a few days of investigation, Fang Yuan understood the happenings of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City.
"The role of the Prefecture Master was official yet private and is conferred by the Imperial Court. But if one is incapable, his placing would be threatened! The previous few Prefecture Masters fought their way there and were only confirmed after approval from the Xia Country. There was no room for rejection..."
After much thought, Fang Yuan pitied the Xia Country's royal family.
With such constraints over his power as compared to a constitutional monarchy in other countries, it only meant that they had jurisdiction over a few more areas.
Of course, it was none of his concern how the Xia Country's royal family was doing.
He was more concern over the happenings within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture. After all, the Prefecture Master was like a mini emperor over six counties.
If he had completed his cultivation, he might be tempted to run for it.
The current Secluded Mountains Prefecture's Head is a spiritual knight named Liu Yan. There's nothing his Scorching Sun Spell can't burn to a crisp, and his strength is number 1 in Secluded Mountains Prefecture..."
Rumours had it that there were hidden experts within the Prefecture, and therefore could not be just this one spiritual knight.
At the very least, from various traces left behind in Qinghe and Lieyang County, Fang Yuan had discovered three possible locations that held the inheritance of a spiritual knight.
"Blood Demon, and that alchemy master and spiritual knight that helped Shi Yutong…...That's not right, the alchemy master and spiritual knight might be the same person, otherwise, it would be a little unusual for Shi Yutong to have such a wide network."
He sighed, and his expression changed. "Shi Yutong would surely attend this event since it is such a major thing in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!"
Fang Yuan did not have to care about anything; Shi Yutong was different. She was the head of a Sect, and any changes in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, albeit small, would surely affect her Sect, what more for this big change?
After clearing his thoughts, Fang Yuan stood up and went to the Secluded Mountain Court.
The entire vicinity was bustling, but everyone felt unwelcoming.
This place was similar to the Four Seas Court in Singhe County; they were the biggest business council in their areas, and both had strong backings.
"Not many places within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture would trade spiritual objects, but it was still the most convenient place to do so... And I'll have to visit the 'Elemental Gathering Court' one day, as it's renowned for cooking spiritual food!"
"Welcome, my lord!"
At the doorway, two rows of waiters were neatly spaced and offered their greetings to Fang Yuan, and none of them seemed to give him less respect for being young.
A female shopkeeper stood out of the row and asked, "My lord, would you like to do business?"
"I would like to buy spiritual plants!"
Fang Yuan was direct.
"The trading of spiritual plants is done at the Spiritual Food Court, follow me!"
The shopkeeper smiled and led the way. He arrived at a counter.
Many coolies were busy shifting and weighing bags of rice, like a normal rice shop.
Fang Yuan glanced and saw the labels of Vermilion Jade Rice and Emerald Grass, as though they were all on sale.
"Would you like to buy spiritual plants? This is the right season!"
The shopkeeper's round face glowed and continued. "We have just received a new batch of spiritual plants. Although it might seem like boasting, we have the complete selection of spiritual plants in the entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture, and also many other food types for you to choose from... Of course, planting of spiritual food would be rather troublesome, and if you would like to buy a large amount, I regret to inform you that we only have a limited supply..."
As he was speaking, a waiter served two cups of tea.
Fang Yuan sipped a small mouthful, and through the smell and taste of the tea on his taste buds, he realised that even though the tea was not brewed from spiritual leaves, the spiritual essence had spread to it, which was rather rare. He became excited and said, "Take out all your spiritual plants and let's take a look!"
"Alright!"
The shopkeeper chuckled and did not seem to despise him. he clapped his hands and a helper carried out a red sandalwood plate, and on it a jade bottle.
"Come, my lord, please take a look. This Vermillion Jade Rice, the most commonly planted in the county…...There's also Black Jade Rice from the north which can help one fight against the cold if consumed for long periods, and this is Green Striped Rice from the swamps, which increases one's resistance to poisons when consumed…...We also have Bone Quenching Flower, Three Star Fruit..."
Following his introduction of the spiritual plants, Fang Yuan grew irritated. "Why are all these plants the common ones? Are there no better plants?"
The Black Jade Rice was as common as the Vermilion Jade Rice and could not pique his interest; he could try it out just because it was a new species to him.
"Higher tiered spiritual plants?"
The shopkeeper smiled. "Every sect and every household have limited supply of spiritual food, and would not even let out one grain of rice seed. Other than these common goods, we really don't have anything else..."
'That's it!'
Fang Yuan patted his head, as though he had thought something through.
If one had a grain of spiritual rice, they could keep growing it and increase their supply, and from there increase their power and influence, they could strategically stock up food.
After all, no martial artist would eat spiritual flowers, spiritual grasses or spiritual pills every day, but they could eat spiritual rice every day, which highlighted the importance of rice.
Even the widely circulated Vermilion Jade Rice, when gone through generations of farming and storing, could become the foundation for a household, and therefore no one would want to bring it out to sell.
"It must be my imagination!"
Fang Yuan laughed but thought for a moment. He knew that the value of his Flame Jade Rice would rocket if he put it out for sale!
Even though hope was lost for a higher tiered spiritual rice, Fang Yuan still had interest for the other spiritual plants.
"I am interested in the Sickle Grass, Serrated Flower and the previous two Black Jade and Green Striped Rice. Name me a price!"
Fang Yuan knew that in these shops they would not have any real valuable spiritual plants, but their basic selection was rather wide and therefore started to make his purchase.
Sickle Grass and Serrated Flowers were spiritual flowers and grass, but they possessed no special abilities. They only had stalks and leaves as strong as iron, edges as sharp as knives, and a disposition for harming people. Fang Yuan bought them naturally out of consideration for the safety of the spiritual land.
And as for the other common spiritual plants, he decided to get it to increase his collection and to see if any of it would evolve special traits.
"Mmm, here are the seeds for the spiritual flower and spiritual grass, and the total will be..."
Fang Yuan bought all the spiritual plants which he did not encounter before. The price was rather substantial as the shopkeeper reported the total price.
He surely did not have enough money to pay.
"I did not bring enough money..."
Fang Yuan continued, and seeing no response from the shopkeeper, he retrieved a bamboo fruit and offered it. "To trade this for the rest, how's that?"
"This is?"
The shopkeeper looked at the green bamboo fruit, and his expressionless face changed. "A spiritual fruit?"
Although he sold spiritual plants seeds, the value of an actual spiritual plant was very much higher than that of a spiritual seed.
He was solemn for a moment, then took out a pair of glasses and placed it on his nose. He inspected the fruit. "Hmm... This is... The bamboo fruits from the legends?:
"Oh? You have a good eyesight!"
Fang Yuan praised him, and calmly took another sip of tea.
He was crafty in this. In most other spiritual fruits there would be seeds within the fruit, but the bamboo had to be planted by grafting and the formation of bamboo shoots, and not by fruits, and therefore there would be no seed being given away.
If the shopkeeper knew that Fang Yuan decided to do this because of what he previously said, he would be so angry.
"You're right. This bamboo fruit is the food for phoenixes and can replenish one's magical energy. It will have an unbelievable effect on spiritual birds!"
After a long while, the shopkeeper put down his glasses and looked at Fang Yuan with much hospitality. "Three bamboo fruits will be able to exchange for all these spiritual seeds, and if you have any more, we would like to buy some more with a high price!"
He was rather smart not to inquire about the bamboo shoot and bamboo roots, as he knew that was the customer's privacy. If he asked, the deal would likely fall through.
"I happened to have these few by luck, and that's all I have!"
Fang Yuan lied through his teeth and took out another bamboo fruit with some taels. "Remember to deliver the spiritual seeds!"
"Of course!"
The shopkeeper nodded his head and felt that it was a pity. He carefully kept the two bamboo fruits and ordered for the spiritual seeds to be brought for Fang Yuan to inspect every single seed. There was a piece of paper with writings on it detailing on how he should care for the spiritual plants, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Fang Yuan was pleasantly surprised at their hospitality. He asked. "Shopkeeper, you have good eyesight. Do you provide any appraisal service?"
"Of course, of course!"
The shopkeeper nodded his head.
Even if the Secluded Mountain Court did not have this service to begin with, the shopkeeper would also do it for free to pull their relations closer, considering the bamboo fruit that Fang Yuan had.
'Mm? Is the bamboo fruit really that valuable?'
Fang Yuan was shocked at this scene.
The bamboo fruit could not be planted and the only usage of the fruit was to eat it.
It had the ability to replenish one's Essence, Spirit and Magical energy, and even amongst the spiritual knights, it would be popular.
'The backing of the Secluded Mountain Court would be the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, and it seems like... My guess was correct…...'
Chapter 95: Secret Meeting
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The effect of the bamboo fruit was extraordinary, but to a spiritual knight, it was just a supplement.
Many spiritual pills, spiritual flowers and spiritual fruits also produced similar or greater effects.
If not, the shopkeeper would not be so polite and would use all means to obtain these special spiritual objects!
Fang Yuan thought about it before taking out the Cracked Ice Fruit which he found at the Red-eyed White King Bird's nest.
"Seed?"
When the shopkeeper saw what Fang Yuan took out, he let out a laugh.
"When I found it, it was already in this condition….."
Fang Yuan helplessly said, "However, I still remember how the actual fruit looked like. I can describe it in detail to you..."
...…
"According to what you said, this fruit seems to be the Icy Fire Jialan. This item would sprout in the first 15 years; its flowers would bloom in the next 15 years, and it would bear fruit 15 years after that. It could calm one's heart, remove one's inner demons, and it had a combination of opposing elements: Yin and Yang. This made it very unique and mysterious, making it something martial artists at the 9th and 10th Gates could dream of but never have!
After a long while, the shopkeeper rubbed his eyes and said in a deep voice.
"Since this fruit is well sought after by 9th and 10th Gate martial artists, could this fruit have a similar effect as compared to the Yin Yang Jade, making breakthroughs easier?"
Fang Yuan's eyes glittered.
"You're correct. If a martial artist at the peak level of the 10th Gate consume this fruit, the chance of him being able to condense the Miniature Elemental Force and making a breakthrough to the 11th Gate will increase by 50%!"
The shopkeeper stroked his beard and said, "Unfortunately, this is just a seed! Also, the conditions for growing this seed are too demanding."
It would take 40 to 50 years for the seed to grow, which was too long for a normal human being. Of course, this was not the main point.
Even if with its seed, it would not germinate in any normal spiritual land.
"I see, thanks a lot!"
Fang Yuan thanked the shopkeeper. He did not feel regretful that the Flower Fox Ferret had actually took half a bite of the fruit.
After all, this fruit was useless to him and he was not in rush to make a breakthrough by taking this fruit.
"I have gotten a branch from the wisteria plant. If you can appraise that it is really from the wisteria, I will give you another spiritual fruit as a reward!"
Fang Yuan took out the branch with a serious look.
"Very well!"
The shopkeeper was very excited but when he saw the wisteria, he was in deep thoughts for quite a while and didn't say a word.
Fang Yuan was disappointed seeing that the shopkeeper couldn't answer. He didn't expect that this experienced shopkeeper in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture City couldn't appraise the spiritual object.
"This branch is really from the wisteria!"
Suddenly, a clear voice interrupted his thoughts. Fang Yuan lifted his head and saw a beautiful lady dressed in green.
She was wearing a golden bangle on her head and a emerald green belt at her waist. She also had a bamboo flute with her. Her face was smooth and beautiful and her eyes were clear like water.
"You are..."
Fang Yuan gave a doubtful look but was shocked.
This woman was the spiritual knight who helped Shi Yutong during the fight over the treasure map.
'No…..she is not a spiritual knight. She is just a spiritual disciple!'
Fang Yuan was much more experienced than before and was able to tell her cultivation level by just looking.
"My name is Ling Yin. I cannot help but interrupted when I saw you taking it out. My apologies!"
The young lady took a bow and stared at Fang Yuan with different look.
"There is no need for you to apologise. May I find out the effect of this wisteria branch?"
The shopkeeper stood up and return a humble bow. It was obvious that he wanted to know the answer to his question so badly. If he couldn't get the answer, he would probably not have the mood to eat or sleep for the next few days.
"There is no harm telling you. Wisteria is a rare plant but it does not have much benefits….."
Ling Yin's voice was soft and she looked at Fang Yuan playfully. Seeing him focused, she continued. "However, wisteria is one of the main ingredient used in making Continuation Spiritual Pill!"
"Continuation Spiritual Pill?"
The shopkeeper exclaimed, "Isn't that the spiritual pill which is rumored to allow one to survive for another 10 days when consumed no matter how serious the person's injuries are?"
"Yes!"
Ling Yin then continued and said, "Unfortunately, the effect of this spiritual pill will be reduced by a lot when it is consumed by a spiritual knight. If not, this spiritual pill will be worth much more..."
"You must be kidding….."
Fang Yuan could not hold back further. "Since the wisteria is one the main ingredients, the other ingredients should be rare and hard to find…...Even if one is able to gather all the ingredients, I'm afraid one will still need a alchemy master's help to produce this spiritual pill. The chances of successfully making this pill shouldn't be that high!"
After hearing what Fang Yuan said, the shopkeeper became less excited and sat down in his chair. He then murmured, "I see…..I'm afraid there is only one person here in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture who is skillful enough to make such pill. However, how would that person be willing to make the pill easily? Previously, Shi Yutong, the sect head of Spirit Returning Sect had to come personally to ask for help. She expended a great amount of spiritual objects and favours before he barely agreed to help. No one else would be bold enough to ask him for help, unless it is the prefecture master himself….."
"Thank you for the explanation, young lady!"
Fang Yuan politely said and took out another bamboo fruit. "Please accept my small gift as a token of my appreciation for your help!"
"I should thank you instead!"
Ling Yin laughed and then continued saying, "If I hadn't seen you taking out this bamboo fruit, I wouldn't have said it. My apologies to you two!"
She was being direct because of the spiritual object, saving the shopkeeper from embarrassment. Hence, the shopkeeper could not blame Ling Yin for interupting. Fang Yuan could not help himself but took another look at this lady.
"However, a piece of information in exchange for a spiritual fruit is too much. I shall not take advantage of this and I want you to accept this gift!"
Before Ling Yin left, she took out a emerald green jade with a different expression.
"Oh? This jade is so cooling and it makes it a good toy. Thank you!"
Fang Yuan said without changing his facial expression.
"A toy?"
Ling Yin couldn't help but said, "This jade has something hidden in it. It will be fate if you can uncover its secrets! I shall take my leave!"
Within seconds, she disappeared into thin air.
"Hey, shopkeeper….."
Fang Yuan was playing with the jade in his fingers as he mockingly smiled. "Do you know that lady?"
"You are kidding….."
The shopkeeper shook his hands randomly and said, "She looked like an immortal from heaven. How could I have the honour to know her?"
"An immortal from heaven? Great description of her!"
Fang Yuan kept the spiritual plants and the seed safely in a small package and parted with the shopkeeper. He then left the Secluded Mountains Court without looking back.
'This Ling Yin, she must have doubted me...'
After he turned into a small alley, he hid himself well before taking a look at the jade as thoughts ran through his mind.
What Ling Yin gave him was a piece of jade!
'It seems like she could detect my martial arts skill or my high magical energy…...But, what kind of attitude is this?'
His magical energy was above average and he see the inscriptions within the jade.
'Those who can see this message have magical energy that is above the average person. I invite you to go to a place called Three Elemental Views within the prefecture city to make a sincere wish, and you might have the chance to catch an opportunity!'
The inscriptions appeared gentle but it sounded arrogant to Fang Yuan, making him unhappy.
'However, this also proved that she did not detect any abnormality from me and only felt that my magical energy was beyond normal. Or maybe she was just hoping that I could read the inscriptions in the jade?'
'If I chose to go and seek for opportunities, won't I have to give out all my spiritual objects as gifts?'
Since Fang Yuan had the inheritance from a dream master, he wouldn't need these opportunities.
He laughed and threw the piece of jade into the air. As it glittered, it landed into the drain.
He laughed softly and left without looking back.
...….
At the same time, back in the Secluded Mountains Court.
Ling Yin went to another hall, as if she had arrived into another land.
A door opened in front of the hall and revealed a person with a bright smile. It was the Sect Head of Spirit Returning Sect, Shi Yutong!
"I'm late again!"
She gently held Ling Yin's hand and sat down.
The surroundings was quiet. There was a bridge with water flowing under it and the occasional bird chirps and cicada noises. There was a Guqin hanged on the wall. The place was separated from the outside world by a tunnel pathway and it was an entirely different world here.
Shi Yutong was a regular here. As the door closed, she personally made a pot of floral tea for Ling Yin. A few golden-veined flower petals were suspended in the tea, as it emitted an orchid fragrance.
"Sister, please forgive me. I should have been able to reach here earlier. Something interesting happened while I was on my way and I encountered an interesting person, which was why I was late….."
Ling Yin smiled while she explained.
"Oh? How interesting was it? Tell me now!"
Shi Yutong seemed to be very interested. After all, she knew that her sister was one who was full of pride.
She was not only born in a family with a rich background, but was also gifted. Her gifts were recognised by many famous teachers as they took care of her, making her slightly arrogant.
Such a person would already be enjoying all the good things in life. What matter would even interest her?
"This thing started from a bamboo fruit….."
Ling Yin's lip had a slight curve. "I had discovered that the young man were not just a normal person. He had an exceptional amount of magical energy and it was sufficient enough for him to become a spiritual servant!"
Such people with such an amount of magical energy would have the potential to become a alchemy master or a spiritual knight.
But for many years, or perhaps even for the rest of one's life, one would remain at the level of a spiritual disciple - the lowest cultivation level amongst spiritual knights. For the rest of one's life, one would only be able to run errands for spiritual knights, and would be referred to as spiritual servants.
In fact, these spiritual servants were actually brought in by spiritual knights as the spiritual knights were claiming to be recruiting new spiritual disciples but the recruited ones ended up being servants for free.
"From what you said, this young man had inner force, his magical energy was twice as much as a normal person and he also had a rich background. It looks like he is a suitable candidate!"
Shi Yutong nodded in agreement after hearing what Ling Yin said.
Even though spiritual knights and alchemy masters were powerful and skillful, they needed much more resources as compared to Wu Zongs.
In Xia Country, in order to train under these spiritual knights, a large capital is needed. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for one to become a spiritual knight.
Of course, she wasn't bothered by such matters.
Shi Yutong sighed and suddenly appeared serious. "Sister Ling Yin, that rumour is real…...The Secluded Mountains Prefecture Master Liu Yan is nearing his death. Is your master considering to take over him?"
Chapter 96: Pharmacist
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"A Wu Zong can live up to 200 years old, while a spiritual knight can live up to 300 years old. These are fixed figures!"
Ling Yin said in a clear voice. "The master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Liu Yan, is highly skilled in fire-type spiritual spells. His ability to kill is shocking, but he did not have any achievements with respect to cultivation. Furthermore, he endured a serious injury in his younger days, and from then on recuperated and rarely used his ability. He is reaching his end now... Would Sister like to fill up the vacancy of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master?"
Shi Yutong became shocked from her cheeky expression. "Sister, you are mistaken! If I can improve my martial arts further, then maybe I would think about it, but now I can only hope for peace within Secluded Mountain Prefecture!"
"That's great!"
Ling Yin smiled innocently, as though she was very happy. "Master is also interested in the appointment, and since Sister has given up, I won't be troubled anymore..."
"Another news for Sister! I previously came in contact with Sect masters from two counties, and they were both supportive of my master taking up the appointment. With Sister's support, it is likely to be settled!"
The Secluded Mountain Prefecture was made up of only six counties. With the support from three and Lieyang County in ruins, they would have gotten the support form the majority.
"Sister, do not worry! Why would I oppose your master?! The Spirit Returning Sect will be behind Master Lu!"
Shi Yutong was a smart woman and clarified her stand.
"Very well, with Sister's support, this is settled!"
Ling Yin smiled, and although she was discussing an important matter, she still had a cheerful disposition.
...
"There is chaos in the Prefecture City!"
It was dawn the next day. Fang Yuan opened the door looked at the sky and thought to himself.
Liu Yan's birthday celebration and the appointment of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master would be the cause for trouble!
'A gentleman will not stand under a collapsing wall. Regardless if Liu Yan dies or not, and who would be the newly appointed Prefecture Master, all these are not my business, and it's not worth the risk to be part of it!'
Fang Yuan walked down the street and appeared relaxed. "After a few more trips, and getting everything that I need, I must leave before the birthday dinner begins!"
The Secluded Mountain Prefecture City was huge; there were two large streets stretching to the North and the South, and in the middle was the City Master's Residence.
"Sanyuan Guan is a famous building along the South Street, it seems that it housed a few impressive people here..."
Thinking about the jade that Ling Yin gave him, he flinched and continued on the North Street.
Fang Yuan's objective was simple. He wanted to explore all the shops which sold spiritual seeds, and afterwards walk about the streets to see what he could find.
'I need luck for this, and it cannot be rushed... I can have lunch at Elemental Gathering Court, I've heard that the spiritual feast there is amazing...'
With a happy heart, Fang Yuan dressed up lightly and arrived at the North Street.
As the date of the birthday celebration drew nearer, the streets became increasingly lively. Many strange items arrived from all over the world, and even though these items did not have many uses, they were still able to pique Fang Yuan's interest and opened his eyes to the world.
"Antiques from the ancient times, every piece is exquisite!"
"Spiritual flower and spiritual fruit, we have everything!"
Knife, spears, swords and halberds, every single one is perfectly designed, don't miss it!"
"Talent show, a martial artist expert in inner force is going to demonstrate it!"
...
Both sides of the street were bustling with life. Fang Yuan was speechless after seeing a few stalls which sold spiritual materials.
'Everything is fake, and once in awhile you would see the Vermilion Jade Rice, and yet they can claim that these are all treasures. All are fakes!'
"Indeed, in the stories, they always talk about scavenging the streets for good stuff, but now I know they are all fake!'
After seeing countless fake goods, Fang Yuan was rather disappointed at not finding anything that he wanted.
"Forget about it, I shall have a feast and change to another location in the afternoon!"
He looked up to the sun and decided.
"Can everyone be my judge! This ill-hearted stall owner is trying to cheat people with fake medicine!"
Suddenly, a rough and loud voice was heard; it was from an inner force expert.
Fang Yuan felt interested and squeezed into the crowd to join in the commotion.
In the centre of the crowd, there was a small medicine stall. It had quite a number of pills and medicinal herbs displayed on the table, including a jade bottle, a wooden box, and a plasticine seal. Everything looked normal for a medicine stall.
The stall owner was around 20 years old and was a gentlemanly young man. However, at that moment, he was grabbed at the collar by a rough and burly man. His fist was about to land on his face.
"You immoral fake pharmacist, asking for 10 pieces of gold leaves for one bottle of 'Breath Condensing Powder'. After eating more than half the bottle, my child still couldn't break through the 4th Gate! If you don't explain yourself, I shall let you die here!"
Although he was brute, he had already harnessed inner force and was a [Martial Artist (6th Gate)], which was rather skilled. No wonder no one stepped up to stop him.
"Brother, I have told you before, the Breath Condensing Powder can only improve your chances, but at the end of the day, it is really up to his foundation and cultivation to see if he can break through..."
He continued to explain. "Furthermore, only alchemy masters can produce a sure-hit pill, and the price of it would surely be not as cheap as 10 gold leaves..."
"How dare you talk back!"
The burly man raged and focused his inner force to his palms. He wanted to show this absurd young man what he was capable of.
Although he was reckless, he was not a fool. He knew that in front of such a large crowd, it would not be too nice to rough it out, and opted to directly use his inner force to harm him internally.
"Wait!"
At this moment, a palm landed on his arm.
The reckless and unstoppable inner force was suddenly met with an immovable palm and he was stopped.
"Who are you? Are you standing up for this immoral pharmacist?"
The burly man turned his head around and saw a calm Fang Yuan.
"It is not important as to who I am. I only want to take a look at the Breath Condensing Powder, and I hope you'll let me!"
Fang Yuan chuckled and used a little force. The burly man's hand unknowingly released the collar of the young pharmacist.
'An expert in inner force, and of higher skill than me!'
Looking at the cheeky Fang Yuan, the burly man was shocked and said, "Alright, I shall let you be the judge!"
He delivered a jade bottle to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan picked open the cork, poured a little and smelt it. He nodded his head and said, "This is indeed an authentic Breath Condensing Powder!"
He glanced at the burly man who was not convinced and smiled. "The only problem is that the Breath Condensing Powder can only increase your chances. You child could only blame on his luck that he did not break through..."
Seeing that the burly man was continuing to pester the stall owner, he turned serious and whipped out a few pieces of gold leaves. "Here are 5 pieces of gold leaves, take it that I'm buying this bottle of Breath Condensing Powder. Do you really think that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture's troops will not do anything to you if you want to keep this up?"
Seeing how Fang Yuan was stronger than him and even offered compensation, the burly man was appeased and stared at the stall keeper. "Count your blessings!"
He squeezed out of the crowd and left, embarrassed
Seeing that the action was all over, the crowd dispersed.
"My name is Huang Fu Renhe, and I thank you for your assistance!"
The young man thanked Fang Yuan and bowed. "Give me a period of grace, I will return the money to you!"
"It's alright!"
Fang Yuan waved generously. He only did that because he wanted to help out, so why would he expect him to pay back?
He looked at Huang Fu Renhe's stall and shook his head. "You are….. A pharmacist? These medicinal powders are not bad, the only thing is that the price is too low, and you are likely to be losing money!"
Fang Yuan could not detect any elemental force or miniature elemental force from Huang Fu Renhe, and knew that he wasn't cut out to be an alchemy master or disciple; he had to be a normal pharmacist.
"Without any reputation or backing, if I don't sell it cheaper than the Secluded Mountain Court, who would buy from me?"
Huang Fu Renhe laughed. "Benefactor, I shall not hide from you. That business which involved the 10 pieces of golden leaves was my biggest business. I used it all up to get medicinal herbs to make more medical powder..."
"Don't call me benefactor, just Fang Yuan will do!"
Fang Yuan smiled. "It's about lunchtime now. Pack your stall up and follow me to Elemental Gathering Court, my treat!"
"Why would I let you do that?"
Huang Fu Renhe waved his hands in rejection, but could not fight Fang Yuan's hospitality. He was pulled along to Elemental Gathering Court, and they opened a room.
This person was inexperienced in the outside world and seemed innocent, and Fang Yuan could see through him.
'Mm, he is indeed a pharmacist. Who would've known that he would have such an experience... Hehe, to become a spiritual servant?'
Listening to him talking, Fang Yuan filled his cup of wine and heartily drank it.
Based on Huang Fu Renhe, he was born with a silver spoon and had a good life. However, he was identified by a mystery person who accepted him as a disciple. As he left his own home, he became increasingly poor and knew what his outcome would be if he stayed on. In the end, he secretly ran away.
"I am such a fool..."
After two cups of wine, Huang Fu Renhe became tipsy and laid on the table. "Based on my potential and spiritual knowledge, how can I become an alchemy master? The most I could hope for is to become a disciple. Master took me in because he wanted another servant, and he very quickly used up all our resources. When my household became broke, his attitude towards me changed and in the end, he even wanted me to test out medicine for him. I had no choice but to run away, to the ends of the world..."
"So that's how it is!"
Fang Yuan encouraged him to drink more, and not long after, Huang Fu Renhe became drunk and slept.
Looking at the snoring Huang Fu Renhe, he was excited. He wasted so much effort not because he noticed anything that he had, but he noticed him!
Even though this person could not become an alchemy master in the future, he could still be a lowly pharmacist, able to mix herbs to produce medicine, and was familiar with medicine. This was what he was lacking in.
Although Fang Yuan was interested in alchemy, he had limited [Essence] and therefore did not want to get involved too much in it.
He uncovered this piece of gem and wanted to bring him back to the secluded valley.
Anyway, the produce from the secluded valley was enough for Huang Fu Renhe to consume and he could groom him.
Chapter 97: Aid
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Ouch…..my head hurts!"
Huang Fu Renhe opened his eyes and held his head as though it was about to blow up.
At that moment, he recalled vividly what happened yesterday and was very surprised. "This is strange. Even though I owe a stranger a favour, why should I treat him so nicely?"
He didn't know that Fang Yuan was not only a skilful speaker but could also use his magical energy to affect others. As such, he landed into a trap set by Fang Yuan, allowing Fang Yuan to know everything about him.
"Brother Huang Fu, you have woken up. Come and have some soup to sober yourself up!"
Fang Yuan open the door and served a big bowl of hot soup.
"Thank you for your help. This place is….."
Huang Fu Renhe asked as the walls around him looked unfamiliar.
"This is a temporary place that I'm living in. Brother Huang Fu, you don't have to worry, I have brought your stall back along with your medicinal pellets and powder and nothing has been lost…..I admire the medicinal powder that you have made as they are really good!"
Fang Yuan gave a light smile and said.
In reality, this world had a rather traditional view towards pills and medicine. An ordinary pharmacist like Huang Fu Renhe could at most dispense or concoct a few types of medicine. On the other hand, alchemy disciples and alchemy masters could use spiritual fire to concoct higher grade spiritual pills and medicines.
However, through Fang Yuan's thorough investigation, he found out that Huang Fu Renhe's skills in making pills were of a similar standard to that of a spiritual disciple. If his success rate of making pills was higher, he would have been cultivated by other sects long ago. Of course, Fang Yuan would not let go of this chance.
"Hmm…...Brother Fang, you think too highly of me….."
Huang Fu Renhe blushed slightly.
He aimed for perfection when producing pills and medicine and hence he had incurred much losses. If it was not for his low success rate, he would not have been so poor.
"I shall tell you the truth!"
Fang Yuan revealed. "I am from Qingye City in the Qinghe County. I am actually living in the secluded valley, which is a well known for producing spiritual rice. I am inviting you to have a visit there. Will you accept my invitation?"
"The Qingye Secluded Valley?!"
Huang Fu Renhe squinted his eyes and was surprised. "Are you the famous doctor from the secluded valley?"
"I have to say that is me since there is only one secluded valley in Qingye City!"
Fang Yuan touched his nose and didn't expect that he would be that famous.
"Pardon me for the disrespectfulness!"
Huang Fu Renhe immediately bowed and was still in shock.
He could feel that Fang Yuan was willing to establish a relationship with him. If he were to go to the secluded valley, with Fang Yuan's assistance, his skills in producing pills and medicine would definitely improve tremendously.
However, even though Fang Yuan produces his own spiritual objects, Huang Fu Renhe's experiments required a vast amount of resources. Could Fang Yuan supply his needs?
Also…..
"Even though my secluded valley is not that big, I should be able to handle and support all your experiments' needs!"
Fang Yuan seemed to know what was on Huang Fu Renhe's mind and assured him.
Fang Yuan was not lying. Even if the secluded valley was not big enough, he had another piece of spiritual land in the Green Peak. If he had not seen Huang Fu Renhe's strong foundations, he could easily spend large amounts of money to invite any other pharmacists.
As for alchemy masters, they not only needed to be talented but also needed a master to pass down skills to them. At the moment, Fang Yuan wasn't thinking about this as this was impossible for him.
"Since you have invited me, I shall gladly accept your invitation. However, I will have to pick my sister up!"
Huang Fu Renhe's reply was swift and decisive. Fang Yuan was not expecting such a quick response.
'Wow…..he answered so quickly although I had already prepared a few other methods to convince him just in case!'
Fang Yuan looked at Huang Fu Renhe and had a feeling that Huang Fu Renhe was not stupid at all. It seemed like Huang Fu Renhe had tricked him instead of the other way round.
'On top of that martial artist previously, could he have provoked many others and is looking for means to get out of the prefecture?'
"Good, since you still have another family member, I shall bring her back as well!"
With a slight doubt, he followed Huang Fu Renhe to the south district outside the city.
As compared to the prosperity inside the city, the south district here felt like a slum. The houses here were built side by side and did not look stable, as though a breeze could blow the houses down. There were piles of rubbish along the road which gave a horrible stench.
"You used to live in such places?"
Fang Yuan scrutinised the place, embarrassing Huang Fu Renhe in the process. Fang Yuan added, "The people here are really poor."
"My house is just right in front, the one below the small bridge!"
He quickened his footsteps as he approached the entrance of his house. "I was drunk and didn't return home. My younger sister should be very worried."
"Brother Renhe, why are you only back now?"
At the roadside, there were a few people in tears as they called out to him. "Something bad happened at your house. A few fierce people went into your house!"
"What?"
Huang Fu Renhe was shocked and quickly ran under the bridge.
Along the river, there was a straw cottage and covered with mud outside. There were many people gathering outside his house and a middle-aged lady exclaimed as she saw Huang Fu Renhe coming. "Mister Huang Fu, hurry up! Your sister is being taken away by a few bad guys!"
"Lanruo! Lanruo!"
After hearing what the lady said, Huang Fu Renhe became very anxious and squeezed through the crowd, and saw a few strong men trying to her sister away.
"What are you all doing? Let go of my sister now!"
Huang Fu Renhe immediately pounced forward, his eyes welled with tears.
"Bang!"
One of the men laughed and pushed him away, as he fell to the ground.
"Brother!"
Even though her sister was young and her face was covered with dirt, her voice was sweet and clear and her eyes were glittering.
"So you are her brother! Hehe…..your sister is pretty. I want her for 5 taels of silver!"
A man with a small beard walked out from the straw cottages. He rubbed his small beard and threw out a silver piece with a cold laugh
"Get out of here now!"
Huang Fu Renhe was infuriated.
If not for spending a huge capital for the resources in producing pills and medicine, how would he become so poor? No matter how poor his family was, they were surely not worth just a few taels of silver.
"Looks like….you are in big trouble!"
Fang Yuan had realised that this group of men were not simple.
'If they wanted her just because she was pretty, what was the use of having a young girl? Wouldn't they have to support her for another few years?'
'If they wanted to sell her away for money, there were other choices as there were many other families outside the city who were also selling their children….'
Fang Yuan carefully looked at the young girl. She was dirty and it didn't seem like she had anything special.
'Eh?'
However, after looking at her for a few times, he realised something.
'This girl's magical energy is very strong…... almost 3 times as much as a normal person! Her magical energy has reached the threshold of a spiritual knight's!'
Magical energy was mysterious and could not be otherwise detected without special means.
For example, Fang Yuan could conceal much of his real power and managed to deceive Ling Yin.
However, this young girl had not been trained and was born with such overflowing magical energy. Hence, she did not know how to conceal her real power. With Fang Yuan's dream master cultivation, even though he was just a dream disciple with limited offensive capabilities, his skills in detection was superb and could sense the difference in that young girl.
'This means that…...this group of men are not simple. They are most likely to be puppets to some powerful person!'
'But to kidnap my sister?'
Fang Yuan let out a cold laughter and went to Huang Fu Renhe's side. "Do you need my help?"
"Yes, please. I will remember this!"
Huang Fu Renhe was in a dire situation and needed any help he could get.
"Very well!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head and blocked the group of them.
"Hey kid, go mind your own business and don't interrupt us!"
The man with the small beard was startled at first and then gave a warning with a wicked smile. He was wearing a shirt with the sign of a wolf's head.
"Aahh….the imprint of the Wild Wolves Gang?"
A few screams were heard and the crowd began to disperse. Many of them retreated as they were afraid.
The Wild Wolves Gang was the gang that controlled this poor district. It was rumoured that the gang leader was a 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist. The people in the gang were violent and rude. Their reckless nature allowed them to earn money through extortion.
"How? Do you still want to interfere?"
The man with the small beard replied with a cocky face, deriving happiness from threatening Fang Yuan.
His gang had real influence in the area. Even though he was just a small pawn in the gang, he became rich ever since he took up private jobs.
He was even happier seeing Lanruo struggling.
The glowing talisman he had showed that she was a suitable person. If he could turn Lanruo in, he would be able to get 100 golden leaves as a reward!
"Brother Fang, what should we do?"
Huang Fu Renhe's feeling was dampened.
He clearly knew the intentions of the Wild Wolves Gang.
"What do you mean what should we do? How could you not do anything and look at your sister being taken away?"
Fang Yuan looked at Huang Fu Renhe.
"How can I do that?"
Huang Fu Renhe shook his head.
"Then things are easy!"
Fang Yuan went forward and said, "Do you all want to break your arms on your own and kowtow to apologise or do you all need me to help you?"
"What an arrogant kid, break his limbs!"
The man with the small beard was furious and saw a silhouette moving quickly.
"Kacha! Kacha!"
Sounds of bone fractures were heard. He wanted to retreat quickly, but it was too late.
"Aahh! My hand!"
"Spare me!"
"A martial artist!"
...…
Among the screams, Fang Yuan easily broke the arms of a few gangsters and brought the young girl to safety. He then stood in front of the man with the small beard and smiled at him.
"Aahh….you better not come near me! My uncle is the protector of the Wild Wolves Gang. He…..he..."
The man with the small beard retreated and was crying in pain silently.
"Oh!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head. He then grabbed the man's right arm and twisted it. "So what?"
"Karak!"
A fracture sound came and the man immediately knelt on the ground with tears and mucus dripping down.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the talisman that fell out of clothing, a puzzled expression appeared on his face: "This is…...spiritual inscriptions. This spells trouble!
"Leave now!"
He turned his head without looking back at the man and called out to Huang Fu Renhe.
"Okay!"
Seeing what had happened, Huang Fu Renhe knew that he couldn't stay here any longer, and quickly entered the straw cottage. Not long after, he came out cursing while carrying a big baggage. He then kicked a few of the gangsters as they once destroyed his stuff.
"You bring your sister and leave now! Remember to wait for me at the house!"
Fang Yuan handed Lanruo back over to Huang Fu Renhe and reminded him.
Chapter 98: Wild Wolves Gang
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"I can't thank you enough with words!"
Huang Fu Renhe bowed before leaving with Lanruo.
Fang Yuan went beside the man with the beard and held the spiritual talisman. He then asked, "Who gave you this spiritual talisman?"
"Aahh...you are dead! I will not let you off….."
The man was rolling on the ground in pain and shouted. There was no way for the both of them to have a conversation.
"Sigh…..I knew it….."
Fang Yuan shook his head and helplessly stared at the incoming reinforcement.
The group of reinforcement looked much more elite. All of them were wearing long robes with the same big wolf's head imprint on their chests. They were indeed fierce and could bring silence in the village by striking fear.
"Kacha! Bang!"
Seeing them coming, the crowd instantly dispersed and everyone went back into their houses. They locked their doors and windows as they were afraid of them.
"You are the one who injured my gang members?"
Among all the men from the gang, there was a middle-aged man who took a step forward and asked. His face seemed to be glowing and resembled to the man with the beard.
"Who are you?"
Fang Yuan asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"I'm Du Feng, the protector of the Wild Wolves Gang!"
He was extremely composed and his eyes looked fierce, evident of a Martial Artist (7th Gate). Fang Yuan was quite surprised that even a small gang leader here in the Secluded Mountains Prefecture would be so well trained in martial arts.
"Very well, your gang has been taking innocent people from their families forcefully. What crime should you all be guilty?"
Fang Yuan said loudly with a sense of justice, as though he represented justice.
"We take away innocent people forcefully?"
Du Feng was a little doubtful at first but then realised that it was likely that his nephew, the man with the small beard, could either be lustful, or this could be part of his private job.
However, he was certain he should help his nephew, but he didn't know Fang Yuan's background, explaining his hesitation.
"It looked like you have no idea ….."
Fang Yuan stepped on the leg of the man with the beard and slowly added pressure. "Speak now, or else I will break all your limbs and cripple for life!"
"Aahh….I will speak! I will speak!"
The man with the beard cried out loud.
To him, being dead was way better than living a crippled life. His biggest fear was to be crippled for his life.
"I was instructed by a lady. She will ask me to source for suitable children whenever she comes to trade with me. I don't know where she lives….Also, I remember that she has a nice voice!"
This man was a weakling. He did not hesitate to speak the truth under pressure, while his uncle remained speechless.
"I see!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head, turned his back and left.
Such arrogance from Fang Yuan made Du Feng furious.
This was his first time seeing a person looking down at the Wild Wolves Gang!
"How dare you!"
Seeing Fang Yuan taking his leave, Du Feng could not resist and grabbed Fang Yuan's back.
"Ha!"
Without looking back, Fang Yuan struck his palm backwards.
"Bang!"
With Fang Yuan's palm, Du Feng's body flew and he spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air. He was left in shock. "4 Heavenly Gates!"
He didn't expect such a young martial artist to have achieved the 4 Heavenly Gates!
Also, Fang Yuan was not just a normal Martial Artist of the 9th or 10th Gate. The feeling of resistance Du Feng felt from Fang Yuan was beyond the level of his own gang leader. He started to draw similarities to the famous experts who had achieved the peak level of the 4 Heavenly Gates long ago!
"What now? Do you want to continue?"
Fang Yuan observed his surroundings. After such a commotion, there was still no presence of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers rushing here. It was probably because this was a poor district and the fact that the Wild Wolves Gang were involved.
"No! I wouldn't dare!"
Du Feng forced himself to get on his feet and broke into cold sweat.
Such an expert like Fang Yuan could wipe out their whole gang overnight!
Upon reaching this thought, Du Feng immediately bowed and apologised. "This man is ignorant and is rude to you. You can do whatever you want to him. Don't be angry!"
"What?"
The man with the beard was surprised by his uncle's reaction. He didn't expect his highly skilled and capable uncle to be defeated in one palm, and to give himself up without hesitation.
The rest of the men in the gang were extremely adaptable and knew how to react to the situation for fear of death. Without hesitation, they kowtowed and apologised, with their foreheads bleeding. "Sir please spare us! Sir, please spare us!"
"I will spare you all!"
Fang Yuan waved his hand. He knew that he would still have to find out the source of the spiritual talisman from the man with the beard.
"Young hero, our gang leader likes to meet new capable young people. If you don't mind, would you like to come along?"
Du Feng realised that Fang Yuan could be negotiated easily and offered him.
"I'm not that skilful!"
Fang Yuan was shocked. He was not that foolish to enter the base of his enemy, which would give them a good opportunity to attack him. Even though they were not enemies now, he still would not go.
He then left and disappeared within seconds.
...…..
Du Feng stared at Fang Yuan's back and was speechless for quite a while.
"Uncle….uncle!"
The man with the beard then managed to get up now. He held his broken arm and worriedly exclaimed.
"Hmm!"
Du Feng stood with both of his hand behind his back and gave a cold look. "Look what you have done…...You better start telling me what happened in detail…..and when have you started doing dirty jobs for other people?"
He asked with much disappointment and anger.
Ever since the situation outside had become unstable, the whole gang had been keeping a low profile under the instructions of their gang leader. After all, they would get into big troubles easily if they were to be in high profile.
However, Du Feng didn't expect his own nephew to attract so much attention. Was he tired of living?
"Uncle, please spare me….."
What more could the man with the beard say? Say that he was greedy and lustful? He could only ask for forgiveness now.
"We shall talk again when we get back!"
Even though Du Feng felt like killing his useless nephew, he held back his anger.
The group of them left hurriedly. After they had disappeared into the next corner of the street, only then did the residents dared to open their doors and windows.
However, there was a silhouette following the group of them. It was a curious Fang Yuan. "Another mysterious spiritual knight…..The situation here in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture is getting more complicated!"
He didn't want to announce his arrival as he headed towards their headquarters but felt that it would be harmless for him to follow the gang stealthily.
...….
The headquarters of the Wild Wolves Gang was not far from the previous place. It was a big house and was well guarded by a few men of the gang.
Back in the hall of the headquarters.
"Pa!"
A loud slap was heard. Du Feng looked at his nephew who was crying out loud. He felt like killing to prevent him more troubles. "Speak now….who are you working for!"
"Uncle, please spare me….."
The man with the beard teared and mucus was dripping down. He revealed the truth.
"What? A spiritual talisman? Which will appear different as it detects suitable children?"
Du Feng was an experienced man. He went up and kicked his nephew. "You are willing to do what others have told you to do. Why don't you die when I asked you to do so?!"
Du Feng was scared and shocked.
such means were definitely those of spiritual knights or spiritual disciples. Moreover, the person did things so sneakily, which made him most likely a foreigner cultivating with evil consequences would be unimaginable if the soldiers of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture would find out his involvement in such doings.
However, he could not suddenly stop. What if they suspect that there was something wrong? Would they take it out on the Wild Wolves Gang?
It was not a difficult task for the weakest spiritual disciple to wipe out the entire Wild Wolves Gang.
Thinking about this, Du Feng kicked his nephew once more, causing him to spit out another mouth of blood.
"This matter is too serious. I will have to report to the gang leader!"
Just as Du Feng was hesitating, a young man dressed in purple entered the main hall. "What happened, Du Feng?"
The young man looked calm and his eyes were glowing. Unknowingly, he had a creepy look.
"Gang leader!"
Du Feng bit his teeth and informed the gang leader about the incident.
"A suspected evil spiritual disciple and a martial artist who has achieved the 4 Heavenly Gates..."
The creepy looking young man was the gang leader of the Wild Wolves Gang. His name was Diao Guangdou. He had already developed inner force and could extend his lifespan. His actual age was much higher than that of Du Feng's. Also, what he had experienced was a miracle. He was only a humble waiter in the past. It only took him a short period of time to become the leader of a gang.
"This matter is indeed complicated!"
At that moment, the inspiring Gang Leader Diao was troubled after hearing Du Feng.
"Gang leader, should I?"
Du Feng looked at his nephew and gave a ferocious look.
In order to keep his position as the protector of the gang and to show his loyalty, he wouldn't mind killing his own nephew.
"You shall keep an eye on him!"
Diao Guangdou waved his hand and two men came to drag the man with the beard out.
"I have failed you!"
After the cry from the man with the beard had faded away, Du Feng then knelt on the ground and asked for forgiveness from Diao Guangdou.
"Sigh….."
Diao Guangdou heaved a long sigh and said, "I didn't expect to meet such troubles after settling the big plan!"
Du Feng was surprised. He already knew that the gang leader had been planning something big but didn't expect him to take action now. Keeping a low profile previously was just a coverup. He suddenly felt that the gang leader was too profound to be understood.
"I deserve to die!"
Du Feng had no choice but to ask for forgiveness.
"Forget it. Since you have made a mistake, I will still have to punish you..."
Diao Guangdou tucked his lips and said, "Well, since there is a new prisoner in the prison, you shall serve your punishment by guarding the prison. Don't make any more mistakes, do you understand?"
"A prisoner? Is the prisoner from the White Cloud Business Council….."
Du Feng's eyes suddenly brightened up. He bowed and dismissed himself. "Understood, sir. I shall not make any more mistakes."
After Du Feng had left, Diao Guangdou touched his chin and was in deep thoughts. "Unfortunately…..if we had gotten hold of that girl, we would have a chance to be on good terms with the spiritual disciple. Compared to the spiritual knight, it is not worth to sacrifice the relationship with the spiritual knight to be on good terms with the 4 Heavenly Gates martial artist…..Hehe, thinking of having good terms with that two of them? I'm afraid the outcome would be disastrous!"
He was in disdain of Du Feng's choice as Du Feng did not want to choose a side during the fight. What was he thinking?
Chapter 99: A Rescue Mission
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Tsk tsk...Chief Diao is indeed introverted! At the same time, he is also straightforward and decisive!"
Amidst the chatter and laughter, Fang Yuan suddenly emerged.
"How did you get in?"
Diao Guangdou was taken by surprise.
This was the headquarters of the Wild Wolves Gang! The very core of the sect! Apart from the constant patrols along the perimeters, within the compound there were minimally two inner force experts protecting the area.
Furthermore, Diao Guangdou, the most powerful member of the gang, was present today.
Despite all these, Fang Yuan was still able to intrude without being spotted. What did this represent?
"Even though this person is young, his powers are extremely advanced and powerful. Could he be an ancient entity from some unknown godforsaken land?"
Diao Guangdou visually assessed Fang Yuan for a moment before bursting into laughter, "Hello senior, what may I do for you?"
"You are indeed quite good at bootlicking! What a pity... Nothing can save you today!"
Fang Yuan shook his head as he replied.
With the help of Du Feng's 'informant', Fang Yuan was crystal clear about the defences of the Wild Wolves Gang.
Furthermore, with Fang Yuan's magical powers, he heard Chief Diao's earlier conversation with his closest subordinates loud and clear. This created a desire to kill in Fang Yuan.
Anyway, for a lowly sect like that, all of its members definitely had blood on their hands. Even if Fang Yuan wiped out the entire sect he would not have an ounce of regret.
Of course, Fang Yuan would not admit the true reason for the attack. He waited and eavesdropped on their conversation to pick out what they had to say about him.
"Shut up, die!"
He glanced at Diao Guangdou who looked like he still wanted to beg for mercy and scoffed.
"Voom!"
After attaining Gui Wusheng's Paralysing Scream and combining it with the techniques in the Blood Magic Manual, the effects were even more extraordinary.
It was almost as if right after Fang Yuan shouted, Diao Guangdou, who had broken through the 9th gate and was also an expert of the 4 Heavenly Gates, was rooted to the spot.
"Slash!"
Fang Yuan moved forward and nonchalantly stretched out his right arm, baring his razor-sharp nails. The thrusting force from this move cut through the air like a knife.
With the combination of the Paralysing Scream and his advance, even a martial artist who has broken through the 12th gate would minimally suffer a major injury from this.
For a martial artist in the 4 Heavenly Gates who had not broken through the Earth Gate, it was almost certain such a move would kill him.
"Ah! Nine Snake Rodent Strikes!"
However, Diao Guangdou's reaction caused a slight surprise in Fang Yuan.
Diao Guangdou who was momentarily stunned suddenly opened his eyes and flew backwards. All the bones in his body suddenly softened and his body crumbled to the floor. Like a boneless snake, he dodged Fang Yuan's fatal claw with extreme agility.
"Who are you? Guards!"
In a flash, Diao Guangdou retreated backwards a few metres and shouted out for help.
Blood flowed from the conspicuous claw wounds on his chest. During Fang Yuan's surprise attack, Diao Guangdou did not escape fully unharmed.
"It's the chief!"
"There's a crisis in the main hall!"
"Send reinforcements now!"
...
There was the commotion of the shouting of commands and hurried footsteps.
"Erm?"
Fang Yuan frowned as he was also surprised, "Interesting. Judging by your martial prowess, you should have lost your head by now..."
Just now, Fang Yuan remembered clearly seeing a flash of red light on Diao Guangdou's body. Diao Guangdou blocked out his Paralysing Scream, rendering it almost ineffective.
It seemed that Diao Guangdou was clear that his magical powers were no match against Fang Yuan's. The only possibility for what happened was there was external intervention.
"Hahaha...I could not have imagined that you are actually quite impressive. Looks like I have to use my full powers!"
Fang Yuan burst out laughing and stepped forward. The muscles on his body swelled out piece by piece and took on a bluish-black colour. It enlarged to the extent it looked as though Fang Yuan was wearing a layer of metal armour.
"He is too strong, retreat!"
Diao Guangdou grabbed on his chest and fled hastily.
He was only able to survive earlier as he relied on a unique treasure to protect his mind. But he knew that this object had its limitations and to fight against Fang Yuan whose powers were much more superior than his was suicidal. His only chance of survival was to retreat and regroup with the rest of the sect and attempt to fight Fang Yuan through the advantage of numbers.
However, Fang Yuan was too fast for him.
In what seemed to be a gust of strong wind, Fang Yuan sent a punch flying at Diao Guangdou just as he stepped out of the main hall.
"Hoo hoo!"
In the midst of the strong wind, Diao Guangdou felt that he was no longer chased by a person, but a wild beast.
After the strong wind subsided, Fang Yuan's punch hit him like a missile, knocking the air out of his lungs.
"Even for a 12th gate martial artists, your powers are considered very impressive!"
Diao Guangdou widened his eyes with rage. At this point, he knew that the only chance for him to live was to fight back. Mustering up the final bits of his courage and will, he turned around to face his enemy. With a loud noise exploding from his waist, he right arm turned into the claw of an eagle and his left arm turned into a serpent. Both shot out like arrows as Diao Guangdou shouted, "Dual Eagle Snake Killing Technique!"
"Snap!"
"Shoo!"
The force behind this technique erupted. This was Chief Diao's signature move and several martial artists had died under it.
However, as his fist and claw landed on Fang Yuan's body, it felt as though they contacted a sheet of strong iron. Even the force which he channelled into the move rebounded back and hit him. The colour drained from Diao Guangdou's face.
"Iron Skin...How is it that its power is so strong?"
In that split second, an idea popped into Diao Guangdou's mind. It was also his last idea.
This was because after his failed attack, Fang Yuan was already now right in front of him.
"Die!"
Fang Yuan was ready this time. He responded with everything he had. Apart from using the Paralysing Scream again, he stretched out his arms and cut off Diao Guangdou's paths of escape and with immense force, he struck the target in the centre.
At that moment, he had little care for whatever technique he used. He purely depended on his superior martial arts prowess to overpower Diao Guangdou.
Diao Guangdou was rooted to the ground, petrified. He bore the full force of Fang Yuan's attack as Fang Yuan's arms smashed on both sides of his head.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, his head exploded. The blood and brains from his head became a gruesome mess and blood flowed out from his nostrils and eyes. Then he slumped to the ground.
"Erm...this move worked again. Maybe the amulet on him only had a one-off protective function?"
Out of curiously, Fang Yuan got down and searched Diao Guangdou's body. Then he stood up and glared at the rest of the Wild Wolves Gang.
"Why? Who else has a death wish?"
With this roar and his almost demonic appearance combined with how he killed Diao Guangdou in lightning speed, he looked very intimidating.
"Chief...chief is dead..."
"This person is unbeatable..."
After all, Wild Wolves Gang was a rowdy bunch of undisciplined rascals. Upon seeing the gruesome death of their chief, chaos ensued as they instantly abandoned their posts and weapons and fled desperately for their lives.
"They can go, but you cannot!"
Fang Yuan looked around and stepped forward, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. Before long he carried out a skinny inner force martial artist out of the chaos.
Seeing that this person was well-clothed and well-endowed with jewellery, Fang Yuan deduced that this person held an important position in the sect and asked, "Did your chief take action against the White Cloud Business Council before? The one where Yu Xinlou was a young lord at?"
Fang Yuan found him worth saving and helping. Had it been anyone else, Fang Yuan would not have even bothered.
"Correct!"
Even though the skinny man was an inner force expert and one of the protectors, he behaved timidly in front of Fang Yuan. He said, "Our chief launched a surprise attack and exterminated the White Cloud Business Council and their possessions. He also kidnapped the young lord to wait for the right moment to seize the inheritance and possessions of the Yu Family...All these were the ideas of the chief, it has nothing to do with me!"
"Take me to the prison and I shall spare your life!"
Fang Yuan commanded coldly.
"Yes...yes sir!"
Shaking in fear, the skinny man led Fang Yuan to the place.
When the news of Diao Guangdou's death spread out, the entire prefecture ensued in chaos. People were busy fighting with each other, fleeing or looting the prefecture. Nobody bothered to avenge their dead chief. The foolish few who stood in the way were easily killed and pushed aside by Fang Yuan as he easily arrived at the back yard.
As this was a private prison by the Wild Wolves Gang, it was naturally not too conspicuous. It was well camouflaged under an artificial hill.
"Ah...Protector Zhang, what happened to you?"
Arriving inside, the disciples who were incognisant of what just happened looked on in disbelief and shock as they say Elder Zhang behaving so obediently next to Fang Yuan.
"Hmm, seeing that you have been obedient, I shall spare your life!"
Fang Yuan waved his hand. With this, Elder Zhang was sent flying out of the prison and he crashed with a few of the prison guards, causing them to vomit blood and pass out.
"Who dares to offend…eh, it's you..."
After entering the corridor, a figure appeared. It was Du Feng. Upon seeing Fang Yuan, the colour drained from his face.
"Get lost!"
Fang Yuan shouted. He sprinted forward with lightning speed and pressed his palm on Du Feng's Dantian.
"Ah...you...removed all my martial arts abilities?"
Du Feng fell to the ground momentarily as blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth. He had an excruciating expression on his face.
"You should count yourself lucky that you can even live like a normal human being..."
Fang Yuan took away a bunch of keys from his waist and opened the metal gate at the end of the corridor.
"Whooo!"
A gust of stale and repugnant air gushed onto his face instantly.
In the prison, the air circulation was expected to be poor, but the atmosphere stank of a noxious odour.
"Ah...what have you done to my uncle?"
Furthermore, in an adjacent cell, Fang Yuan caught sight of a familiar person. It was the man with the mouse-like beard who offended him earlier.
"Haha, I gave you a chance, but you refused it. You are indeed looking for trouble!"
Without looking, he flicked a small rock which hit the man, causing him to gently fall to the ground.
"Ah...Someone is breaking into the prison!"
"Save me, I have a lot of wealth and I can also pass on to you very formidable martial arts techniques!"
"Save me!"
...
A huge commotion erupted as several prisoners stuck their black and filthy arms through the window grills and they tried to catch Fang Yuan's attention. However, behind the grills, many pairs of menacing eyes shone in the pitch darkness.
"I am not the saviour, do not expect me to save you!"
Fang Yuan rolled his eyes. If they were innocent civilians, there was no reason for them to be locked up in here. As for whether this punishment for whatever crime they committed was justified, it was not worth his time to ascertain.
Fang Yuan walked further down into the basement of the prison and he saw a few cells that looked especially impregnable. Looking through the small window, he saw a man lying on the ground.
"Yu Xinlou!"
Fang Yuan smiled.
You are...Brother Fang?"
Hearing a familiar voice, Yu Xinlou climbed up instantly. Upon seeing Fang Yuan, his mouth widened slowly and he asked, "What are you doing here?"
Chapter 100: Birthday Dinner
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Whoosh... Piak!"
Fireworks exploded in the skies of Secluded Mountain Prefecture City, like a shower of meteors; they fell towards the ground with their colourful flaming tails.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the birthday dinner. The entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture City was celebrating.
Even though there were more conflicts on the streets and a few gangs being destroyed due to the influx of people from all around the nation, it was all neglected due to the joyous occasion of the birthday dinner.
Prefecture Master's mansion.
"As Qinghe City's Spirit Returning Sect Sect Head, I offer my greetings to you, Prefecture Master!"
Amongst the loud discussions, Shi Yutong wore a cloth over her face and entered the Prefecture Master's mansion under the escort of a few Spirit Returning Sect disciples.
Spirit Returning Sect was a stronghold in the entire county, and therefore Shi Yutong's arrival was quite a big affair. She was directed to the heart of the hall.
'The troops of Secluded Mountain Prefecture are impressive, indeed impressive...'
She appeared friendly and greeted a few people whom she personally knew, but deep inside she was surprised.
At the gate of the mansion, there were two rows of Martial Artists (6th Gate and above) to guard it. There were emotionless and had metal armour, and were able to strike fear in anyone who looked at them.
At this point, all the guards were martial artists who broke through the 4 Heavenly Gates!
These highly skilled martial artists were able to lead a few hundred troops among the Secluded Mountain Prefecture.
After all, the weakest soldier within the Secluded Mountain Prefecture armed forces was a Martial Artist (4th Gate). A few capital leaders were at the Wu Zong level and were comparable to Shi Yutong!
If they didn't have such power, they wouldn't be able to ensure peace in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!
At the seat of the hall master sat a cheerful old man, wearing a spiritual robe with a hundred 'longevity' sewn onto it. He was skinny and it was as though he would fall from a strong breeze. However, he had fire in his eyes and seemed unpredictable.
This was the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master, who had controlled over 6 counties and the Secluded Mountain Prefecture armed forces - Liu Yan.
"Spirit Returning Sect's Shi Yutong congratulates my lord, prefecture head, and specially presents 3 stalks of spiritual ginseng and 10,000 gold coins. Here's wishing you longevity!"
Shi Yutong looked at Liu Yan and paid her greetings. Her loud and clear voice travelled throughout the entire hall, and her pricey gifts made a commotion.
"Haha….. Yutong, you are too kind, please recover!"
Liu Yan laughed heartily, and even his beard began to float up; it was evident that he was pleased with Shi Yutong. "Please have a seat, and promise me you'll drink with me a few cups tonight!"
"Of course!"
Shi Yutong laughed, got seated and scanned the surroundings.
She was Wu Zong and the master of a county, she was seated at a special table with everyone at the same level as her. A few of them were the capital leaders, and there was one seat empty. He was under Liu Yan and was not present.
"Sect Head Shi, I've heard that you have just taken in a highly capable disciple. There is someone to take over your place now, and I am so envious of you!"
At the other table across, a muscular man offered a drink.
He was wearing the armour of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture City and did not bother to take it off. He used a large bowl for his wine and was extremely forthright.
"Niu capital had a good reputation..."
Shi Yutong downed one bowl of wine. "My disciple is playful. Even though she might have potential, how could she compare to the talents here in the Prefecture City?"
"We cannot compare! Not at all!"
The capital leader of Niu County shook his head and pointed at the empty seat. "After all, you recruited Master Lu's help to make a spiritual pill for her. With that to aid her, no matter how talented our people are, how can we compare to your disciple?"
Shi Yutong froze and was deep in thought for a moment. A voice came from the side. "Master Lu is the only alchemy master in Secluded Mountain Prefecture and has many friends in many counties... Isn't that right, Sect Head Shi?"
His eyes were extremely sharp and whoever he gazed at felt uncomfortable.
Shi Yutong felt even more unbearable and almost wanted to run for the door!
The few people that he stared at were those who supported Master Lu to take over the appointment!
Liu Yan had mixed feelings, raised his wine bowl and scanned the surroundings as though he did not hear the previous exchange.
At the moment, the entire atmosphere changed, and there was an uncomfortable silence as though someone died.
Under such a huge stress, a few Wu Zong martial artists broke into cold sweat.
Just before Shi Yutong decided to start the fight, a few high pitched voices travelled from outside, albeit fearful. "Lu Renjia, Master Lu, brings my disciple Ling Yin to offer our greetings to Prefecture Master!"
...
"It's so lively within the Prefecture City!"
At this moment, there was a group of people observing from outside the Prefecture City.
Fang Yuan stood on a little hill and observed everything. He then looked at Huang Fu Renhe and Yu Xinlou by his side. "What? Are you still wondering why I retreated?"
"Why would we?"
Huang Fu Renhe waved his hand. "Benefactor saved my life and my sister's life, and we will never forget this favour. Regardless, I will always obey you!"
Fang Yuan smiled and looked at the small girl beside him.
Lanruo was washed up and wore a robe. Other than being slightly malnutrition, she had no difference as compared to a normal child, but Fang Yuan could sense her unimaginable magical energy; she was a perfect candidate to become a spiritual knight.
If there could be another miracle, she might even be able to become a dream master.
'This kid is not Huang Fu Renhe's blood-related sister, but her stepsister... stepsister... Why did I not have such luck?'
As Fang Yuan stared at Lanruo, she could feel his gaze and shrugged her neck.
Fang Yuan was impressed and how she could sense his gaze and then turned his attention to Yu Xinlou.
The young proprietor of the White Cloud Business Council went through an ordeal of losing his entire family and even went to jail. After everything, he became much more mature, and the bloody wounds on his face gave him a resolute look.
"The ordeal that the White Cloud Business Council went through was a heavy blow to me, and it seems that we have lost footing in the Prefecture City... We should leave to another place, and as early as possible. I am looking forward to Master's Qingye City! If you have any favour next time, my business council will help to our fullest ability!"
He was a smart person and turned the entire business council to Fang Yuan's service, in exchange for protection.
"Don't worry, I still have some influence in Qingye City!"
Fang Yuan smiled and said.
Even though the White Cloud Business Council was damaged, it was still rather influential in Qingye City and could strengthen his influence outside the city. With their alliance, even the Spirit Returning Sect would find it hard to try and interfere with them.
"I still have to thank Master for saving my life!"
Yu Xinlou bowed and gave his thanks to Fang Yuan, as he solemnly said.
"It was casual... And I did gain from it too, so you don't have to thank me..."
Fang Yuan looked at Yu Xinlou and felt a little pitiful for him.
The conflict in his family and the betrayal from a blood-related family member completely uprooted the entire White Cloud Business Council. The old proprietor of White Cloud Business Council and the 4 Heavenly Gate Martial Artist sacrificed and paid their lives, which strongly affected Yu Xinlou.
Of course, he was considered a strong man for being able to deal with it and grow from it.
Fang Yuan fiddled around with a blood-coloured jade in his hand, and his smile grew.
He did not lie.
He did gain from the destruction of the Wild Wolves Gang. The most important takeaway was the blood-coloured piece of jade.
'This piece of jade seems to be a treasure. Fiddling around with it for prolonged periods of time can help to improve one's health and absorb the impurities in one's body, which could be considered as improving one's physique. This was the reason why Diao Guangdou could accelerate his progress from a small waiter to a gang leader, to what he had achieved...'
He was a waiter and was middle-aged. Therefore, to be able to rise so quickly, he had to have a good potential.
Who would've known that he could become a 4 Heavenly Gate Martial Artist? This piece of jade played a big part in it and was a treasure of Diao Guangdou which he kept dearly. It seemed to also have a calming effect for him.
However, it was not enough to match Fang Yuan, which led to his death and his treasure landing into someone else's hands.
'This thing is not simple...'
At Fang Yuan's current cultivation level, this jade's ability was rather insignificant. As Fang Yuan placed it under the sun, he noticed fine red lines within the jade, like the arteries and veins in a human. He was shocked at the way Diao Guangdou used it, as it was simply squandering the item.
'There's blood hidden in the jade, forming structures similar to human meridians, and it can also protect one's divine spirit…...I'll name you Blood Spirit Jade!'
Fang Yuan named it and promptly kept the Blood Spirit Jade properly. He appeared rushed. "Let's go... The Prefecture City is now trouble, and the further we go the better!"
"Yes, master!"
Huang Fu Renhe and Yu Xinlou both felt that he was overreacting, but still bowed and followed anyway; they did not dare to disobey.
At this moment, a large pounding was heard from the city gates, which made their expression change.
In front of the 35-yard tall city wall was two large metal doors, which under the force of machinery and human force, slowly closed up, like a beast closing its big mouth.
Hundreds of citizens were screaming just behind the doors, like ants.
"Rumble!"
In the end, the entire door was shut, and in three other directions, the same sound was heard.
On the city walls, rows of Secluded Mountain Prefecture soldiers walked out in armour. All of them wielded knives and swords and loaded their bows, as though they were facing a big threat.
The entire Secluded Mountain Prefecture City seemed like a beast ready for war.
"Closing all four doors?"
Yu Xinlou observed the scene and was shocked. "Even the previous few wars did not escalate to this intensity? What is happening in the Secluded Mountain Prefecture?"
"Regardless of what is happening, it is of no concern to any of us. The Prefecture Master and the higher-ups will settle it. If they cannot deal with it then neither can we, so let's go!"
Fang Yuan waved his sleeve, turned around and left.
It was always good to be an opportunist, but the risks this time were too high and it was unjustified to go for the rewards.
'It seems that the Secluded Mountain Prefecture made the first move, this Liu Yan is not simple...'
He thought about it, jumped on a carriage, and neglected the two behind; both of which looked at him in awe.
