redvbooks Chapter 304 - 244: Spirit Root Enhancement
Chapter 304 - 244: Spirit Root Enhancement
In an elegant private room in the Spring Flower Building, Fang Qingyuan sat in the seat of honor, accompanied by Wan Sancai.
Several young women were nestled beside Fang Qingyuan, occasionally picking up seasonal fruits from the table to feed him.
Fang Qingyuan’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction. It wasn’t just because of the beauties in his arms, but also because of the recent news about the Demon Tide outbreak.
"Brother Jia, it’s been a long time since you’ve come to the Spring Flower Building. Many of the familiar faces here have changed over the past three years, but a few of them have never forgotten you."
Wan Sancai looked even more prosperous than he had three years ago. The Magical Artifacts he wore had also been upgraded to several exquisite pieces.
In the past three years, Wan Sancai and Fang Qingyuan’s partnership had earned him a good number of Spirit Stones. Although the Blood Qi Pill bait wasn’t a huge business, it was still more profitable than what Wan Sancai had been doing before.
Hearing Wan Sancai’s flattery, Fang Qingyuan smiled serenely. He never expected that the poem he had casually composed three years ago would become exclusive to those seven Qing Guanren, greatly increasing their value.
Some wealthy patrons, after hearing the poem, specifically requested the service of those seven.
Fang Qingyuan was speechless that a single poem of his could have such an effect. However, the fad only lasted a few months before dying down. After all, Cultivators were ultimately only concerned with matters related to their own cultivation; the affections of the pleasure quarters were as ephemeral as a mirror’s flower or the moon’s reflection in water.
"Old Wan, what’s the current situation with the Demon Tide in the Outer Sea?"
Fang Qingyuan asked casually while sipping his tea. For the past two years and more, he had stayed in the Evergreen Garden to cultivate in peace, not venturing out to gather information himself, so his intelligence was a bit outdated.
Wan Sancai’s spirits lifted, and he began to show off his knowledge:
"The Iron Wind Beast Taming Sect invited two Nascent Soul Ancestors, one of whom even brought a Nascent Soul Giant Crocodile. Add to that the original Island Master’s Nascent Soul Companion Beast and the Inspector Envoy from the Great Zhou Academy who came to investigate the case. This little Iron Wind Island suddenly has five Nascent Soul Cultivators. It’s truly a rare sight in the world.
Right now, these five Ancestors are leading an army formation to attack the island where the Demon Tide first erupted. Rumor has it that everything is going smoothly, and they should return victorious any day now."
After hearing this, Fang Qingyuan sneered inwardly. ’A bunch of skulking remnants of the Demon Sect. Now they know what the iron fist feels like.’
"By the way, have you heard anything about the Foundation Establishment Cultivators who’ve gone missing in recent years? I asked you to look into it before."
Fang Qingyuan asked casually. He had previously guessed that since he had spent the last two and a half years hidden within the Beast Taming Sect’s sphere of influence, the Demonic Cultivators wouldn’t be able to get to him and would most likely change their target.
"A few have disappeared, but it seems they all perished during expeditions. The most recent one was a Cultivator with a Water Element Spirit Root. About half a year ago, he was invited to explore the overseas regions. It was only when the Soul Lamp he left behind was extinguished that people learned he had died."
’They even went after a Cultivator who had a Soul Lamp. It seems this group of Demon Cultivators is getting desperate to find a suitable Water Element Cultivator.’
Fang Qingyuan pondered for a moment, then smiled freely. ’I suppose I’ve passed this trial.’
’The Demon Tide erupting in the Outer Sea must be the work of the Demon Lord they worship, now that it has awakened.’
’But what does any of this have to do with a minor Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer Loose Cultivator like me? No matter how strong that Demon Lord is, there are five Nascent Soul cultivators holding the line now.’
’Even if those five Nascent Soul Cultivators aren’t a match for it and all perish, the next ones to arrive will probably be five at the Divinity Transformation realm.’
After considering all this, another thought crossed Fang Qingyuan’s mind. ’It’s been almost three years since I came to the Iron Wind Islands, but I still have no leads on my real objective.’
’How could the secret of a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator be so easily discovered by me? Of course, it’s also because I’ve been too cowardly these past three years, refusing to even leave my home.’
’Thinking about the time, a new trailblazing war is probably about to start back on White Mountain.’
’Could it be that Lechuan saw I wasn’t skilled in combat and deliberately sent me away with a random excuse?’
Fang Qingyuan felt a little lost. ’Even if I do uncover Zhao E Lian’s secret, how much of a difference can I really make?’
....
After returning from the Spring Flower Building, Fang Qingyuan went to his Quiet Chamber, his mood not particularly high. But when he entered the Immortal Mansion, he was instantly furious.
"Jinbao! What are you doing?"
In front of an Array, Jinbao was furtively trying to break it open, while Yinbao cheered it on from the side.
Inside the Array, over a hundred purple Spirit Fish swam leisurely, completely unaware of the chubby bear outside who was drooling over them.
Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s voice, Jinbao instinctively covered its ears and scurried away.
Yinbao, on the other hand, leisurely flew to the side, pretending it had nothing to do with any of this.
’You rascal, Jinbao! How dare you try to get at my Purple Spirit Crystal Fish! You’re really trying to be an unruly rascal, banking on your thick hide, aren’t you?’
Fang Qingyuan felt his anger soaring. The two hundred acres of ginseng had been planted over a year ago. Since then, Jinbao and the other two little ones had fallen into a state of idleness.
Fang Qingyuan didn’t want them spending too much time in the Purple Bamboo Forest, lest they disturb the Bee Queen’s Alchemy. And while the Immortal Mansion had four hundred acres of space, the three little ones inevitably got bored after a while.
Thus, everything inside the Immortal Mansion became a source of entertainment for them.
As the boldest cub of the three, Jinbao had started by wreaking havoc in the Black Heart Lotus Pool that Fang Qingyuan had planted, then moved on to catching green-mouthed fish and beating up the Iron-Seeking Rats.
It had done every bad thing imaginable, and now it was even going after the Purple Spirit Crystal Fish that Fang Qingyuan had so carefully nurtured. It was simply too audacious.
Looking at the partially dismantled Array, Fang Qingyuan’s brow furrowed deeply. Jinbao’s Talent was very high. Its innate Divine Technique, the Golden Eye of Truth, allowed it to see through and be immune to all mind-affecting arts below its own tier.
Although the Array he had set up was Tier Two Mid Grade, given enough time, Jinbao could still dig its way through.
’This can’t go on. It seems I can’t let Jinbao stay idle.’
The next day, Fang Qingyuan went to the Marketplace, spent one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones on a set of Tier One Lower Grade Artifact Refining inheritance texts, and tossed them in front of Jinbao.
At that moment, Jinbao had no idea what awaited it.
.....
The day after, amidst the CLANG CLANG of hammering iron, Fang Qingyuan arrived at the Purple Bamboo Forest. Upon seeing him, the Bee Queen immediately raised its stinger.
"Where is the Tier Two High Grade Red Heart Flame Furnace I asked for?"
Fang Qingyuan felt a bit embarrassed. The Red Heart Flame Furnace was a high-grade Pill Furnace documented in that Alchemy Dao inheritance. Although Fang Qingyuan could afford it, there were none in stock on the Iron Wind Islands.
A Tier Two High Grade Pill Furnace wasn’t a cabbage that you could just buy whenever you wanted. Each of these furnaces was renowned. You either had to wait for another Pill Master to sell theirs or commission a highly skilled Artifact Refiner to make one.
Expecting to just walk into a shop and buy one with Spirit Stones was too naive. For such high-grade resources, Spirit Stones weren’t omnipotent.
However, Fang Qingyuan didn’t want to explain these reasons to the Bee Queen.
"In a little while, the annual Iron Wind Island auction will begin. There should be a Pill Furnace for sale then. I’ll let you pick one."
"Ah, really? Thank you, Master! But even with a new furnace, the price for the three thousand Blood Qi Pills can’t change."
"It won’t change, it won’t change. Three thousand is three thousand. I already promised you, didn’t I?"
With just a few words, he coaxed the Bee Queen into a good mood. Only after the Bee Queen enthusiastically resumed its Alchemy did Fang Qingyuan withdraw.
’Sigh. Raising my own Spirit Beasts feels like raising a daughter. Are other Beast Taming Sect disciples like this too?’
’Have I gone down the wrong path? Should I go to the Zongshan to study the Beast Taming Scripture?’
Mulling over this question, Fang Qingyuan sank into his cultivation. But as soon as he began circulating his Cultivation Technique, his eyes flew open in pleasant surprise.
He had just felt his cultivation speed increase slightly. Immediately, Fang Qingyuan took out a Magical Artifact for testing Spirit Roots and began the test.
A moment later, Fang Qingyuan burst out laughing. After all these years of unyielding perseverance, and with the addition of the new two-hundred-plus acre Ginseng Field, his Wood Spirit Root aptitude had finally increased by another point.
Wood Spirit Thirty-Three!