Chapter 115: Advancement and Outings

At Jade Cliff.“Ah, I should’ve known better than to venture out!” Fang Xi lamented, feeling quite dispirited after encountering trouble during his trip.

To him, the girl’s indignation seemed like a joke.

As for her ‘three-year pact’?

Well, he never agreed to it!

Staying cautious while cultivating was more his style; the thrill-seeking approach wasn’t suited for him.

In the alchemy room,

Fang Xi opened the pill furnace, ready to start another batch of concoction.

During his outing today, he had purchased materials for the ‘Beast Grain Pellets,’ allowing him to resume production once again.

This particular pill was mid-tier, first-rank, significantly more challenging than the Blood-Clotting Pill.

Fang Xi had previously attempted it, ruining several batches. However, now he felt confident enough to succeed.

He warmed up the furnace, added medicinal ingredients, increased the temperature, harmonized the properties, and condensed the liquid essence…

Each movement by Fang Xi was steady and assured, as if he had meticulously planned every step.

After several hours, the pill furnace rumbled, emitting a distinctive fragrant aroma.

“Collect!”

With a gesture using the collection technique, several earth-yellow medicinal pills flew from the furnace into his palm.

Crack!

Three of the pills immediately shattered with a crisp sound upon emerging.

Among the remaining three, one displayed a dull grayish hue, indicating it was a dud pill!

Holding the two genuine Beast Grain Pellets, Fang Xi paid no heed to the giant salted fish lounging in the courtyard and headed towards the underground cave.

“Here, have some!” Fang Xi casually tossed two Beast Grain Pellets towards Tai Sui.

Tai Sui silently wriggled and absorbed the pills, gradually dissolving them…

Meanwhile, Fang Xi gazed at the defective pill in his hand, deep in thought.

This waste pill, although successfully formed, contained excessive pill toxicity and erratic medicinal properties, rendering it harmful rather than beneficial!

In truth, since he began pill concocting, he had accumulated quite a few such waste pills with virtually no value.

However, as Fang Xi looked at the Demon Tree, an idea struck him, “Hey…come eat!”

The Demon Tree extended one of its aerial roots, snatched the waste pill from Fang Xi’s hand, and engulfed it within its canopy.

“Hmm… seems like nothing untoward happened!”

“From now on, I’ll feed all waste pills to the Demon Tree; it’s a good way to utilize trash…”

As Fang Xi pondered, he suddenly noticed a change in the underground cave’s spiritual energy.

A significant amount of spiritual energy was converging, even forming a small whirlpool!

At the center of this whirlpool, Tai Sui appeared akin to a ball of white dough rapidly rising.

“Has it advanced to a tier-1 high-grade mythical beast?”

Fang Xi realized that this wasn’t solely due to the Beast Grain Pellet but because Tai Sui was already near the peak of mid-tier first rank. Consuming the pellet provided the opportunity for breakthrough.

“Excellent, truly excellent…” A wave of joy appeared on Fang Xi’s face.

This Tai Sui creature was far more impressive than that useless salted fish!

Fang Xi promptly assessed Tai Sui’s various abilities and found that its strength remained quite weak, barely able to react when attacked. However, its recovery and self-healing capabilities had significantly improved.

Moreover, its size had nearly doubled compared to before!

“In the future, you’ll have to endure even more work.”

Fang Xi gently stroked Tai Sui’s soft, tender surface, feeling quite contemplative.

Without this mythical beast, his approach to cultivating trees would undoubtedly lean towards brutal violence, which clashed with his laid-back cultivation persona…

After conducting tests, he confirmed that tier-1 high-grade Beefwood meat indeed suited the Demon Tree’s taste better.

Unfortunately, the Demon Tree had already grown close to the ceiling of the cave, and Fang Xi couldn’t risk having it break through directly at Jade Cliff. Instead, he commanded the tree to primarily extend horizontally and focus on developing its root system.

Now, whenever observing the Demon Tree hunt, Fang Xi noted how its extensive roots acted like a net within the lake, effortlessly capturing numerous fishes, river clams, crabs, and green shrimps…

“Pity that salted fish wasn’t up to the task; otherwise…”

Winter gave way to spring, and time continued its cyclical march.

In the blink of an eye, the Bloodgrass and Snake Orchid Fruits in Fang Xi’s medicinal herb field had reached a maximum age of five years for cultivation purposes.

Within the underground cave, numerous aerial roots hung down, while above ground, various banyan tree-like formations created a distinct plant world of their own.

Beneath the banyan trees,

Fang Xi sat cross-legged, gradually concluding his cultivation session.

He opened his eyes, revealing a fleeting green glow within them: “I’ve reached the eighth layer of Qi Refinement… Ever since mastering the Azure Wood Spirit Body, even transitioning from the seventh to the eighth layer felt effortless.”

He estimated that with his original low-grade spiritual roots, this minor bottleneck might have stalled him for ten or more years.

Some Qi Refinement cultivators never managed to break through such bottlenecks throughout their entire lives!

Moreover, over these past few years, Fang Xi diligently studied pill concocting and array formations. He could now consistently produce four Beast Grain Pellets per furnace batch, reaching the pinnacle of mid-tier first-rank Alchemists. This allowed him to attempt some tier-one high-grade medicinal pills.

As for formations?

He had thoroughly analyzed the Little Cloudrain Array, steadily advancing his Dao of arrays to mid-tier first-rank proficiency.

The study of array formations is inherently more challenging, leading to slightly slower progress, often getting stuck at difficult hurdles along the way.

In contrast, progress in pill concocting could be accelerated by consuming vast resources for practice. However, array cultivation faced a persistent problem; until he fully understood it, there was simply no way to advance further!

Fang Xi felt utterly helpless about this predicament.

After feeding the Demon Tree, he returned to the courtyard and gazed at the Great Azure Fish swimming in the pond, his expression growing even more resigned.

Over these years, Tai Sui had reached tier-one high-grade, while despite consuming the last drop of snake-dragon essence refined into a medicinal pill, the Great Azure Fish remained stubbornly at mid-tier first rank!

If not for promising ten years’ time - with only five having passed so far - Fang Xi might have already taken drastic action, turning it into a spicy sour fish soup!

“Speaking of cultivation, just as I estimated, I’ve reached the eighth layer of Qi Refinement at age thirty-eight!”

Seated under the peach tree, Fang Xi took out a yellow-skinned gourd and sipped from it, enjoying some Peach Blossom Brew.

This brew represented his pursuit of perfection, evolved from the original Peach Blossom Wine. Aged for three years, its peach fragrance became richer without overpowering the overall taste.

About an hour later, a voice-transmission talisman flew in.

Casually catching it, Fang Xi exchanged a few words, then tossed the talisman away.

Shortly after, Lu Guo entered, now dressed in gray attire and appearing as a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth.

Remarkably, his cultivation base had reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement!

Now, it would no longer be easily discredited outside.

“Greetings, Master!”

Lu Guo, with his striking features and sword-like brows, possessed considerable handsomeness. A resilient determination could be seen in his eyes, cultivated through years of hard labor on the fields.

“Are you truly decided? No regrets?” Fang Xi looked at him, calmly stating, “Joining the joint law enforcement team means facing constant risk of death!”

“No regrets!” Lu Guo gritted his teeth, his expression resolute. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Over these past few years, the ‘silver-armored figure’ remained elusive, evading capture. Even rumors suggested that Foundation Establishment cultivator Yu Lingzi personally attempted to hunt and kill the culprit but still failed, further solidifying the silver-armored figure’s fearsome reputation as the ‘First Under Foundation Establishment’!

Moreover, the silver-armored figure was brutally ruthless; after each pursuit, they would merely lie low for some time before re-emerging to commit more major crimes! This situation increasingly harmed the business at Spirit Hollow Market, leaving even Foundation Establishment cultivators overwhelmed and distressed.

In desperation, the Taishu, Yuchi, and Xiahou families jointly pushed for the Thirty-Six Islands Alliance to establish a combined law enforcement team, tasked with patrolling the hundred-mile radius around Spirit Hollow Island!

The operation required numerous cultivators, which the three leading islands alone couldn’t sustain without risking their own resources excessively. Therefore, they sought assistance from various other islands.

As members of the Thirty-Six Islands Alliance, and having already established their shops there…

Peach Blossom Island naturally fell within this jurisdiction and began recruiting rogue cultivators for the task.

The mission was undeniably perilous, but Lu Guo saw it as an opportunity!

Under normal circumstances, being the son of a condemned man, he would never have a chance to leave the island, likely doomed to farm at Jade Cliff for his entire life!

Recently, his cultivation progress had significantly slowed due to insufficient resources like medicinal pills.

This stagnation was unbearable for Lu Guo, who had long planned to venture beyond the island.

In his eyes, this recruitment presented a heaven-sent opportunity!

Without the risk of imminent danger, every cultivator on the island would eagerly vie for such positions, leaving no room for him. Only with highly dangerous tasks akin to ‘filling war trenches’ would there be scarce volunteers, making it possible for him to step forward without competition!

“Well, that’s quite decisive. Your fate upon departure will depend solely on your own fortune,” Fang Xi said, taking another sip of peach wine. “We can’t afford to lose our farming hands here. Don’t mention Wang Xiaohu; he is still too young…”

Lu Guo, not daring to contradict Fang Xi, swiftly responded, “I’ve found a suitable replacement, a rogue cultivator from elsewhere named Hai Dagui. He’s around my age, with a cultivation base at the third layer of Qi Refinement.”

“Hmm, bring him tomorrow for evaluation.”

Fang Xi was somewhat satisfied with Lu Guo’s response. After a moment’s thought, he retrieved ten spirit stones from his bag of holding. “You’ve been tilling this land for many years, and your upcoming journey is fraught with danger. Here are ten low-grade spirit stones; combined with your savings, it should be enough to purchase a mid-grade defensive magical artifact…”

Lu Guo involuntarily shuddered.

His secret stash of spirit stones had always remained hidden, so being discovered by Fang Xi caught him off guard. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, filling him with unease.

“Many thanks, Master!” Despite his inner turmoil, Lu Guo maintained a grateful expression as he accepted the spirit stones.

“You may leave now…” Fang Xi waved dismissively, allowing Lu Guo to depart.

He genuinely did not care much about Lu Guo’s fate or survival beyond this point. After all, nurturing the son of an enemy was simply inconceivable!

In truth, Lu Guo himself had gradually realized that at Jade Cliff, his life would be confined to farming until old age, prompting him to seize any opportunity to escape the island, no matter the cost!

After Lu Guo left, Fang Xi paused briefly before once again indulging in his fine wine.

Several hours later,

within the secret talisman workshop he had created:

Fang Xi picked up a talisman brush, dipped it in spirit ink, and began drawing intricate strokes on a paper talisman with fluid grace.

As the brush tip touched down, threads of spiritual energy flowed effortlessly.

In no time, a low-grade ‘Qi Restoration Talisman’ was completed.

The surface of the talisman flashed momentarily with an aura, then settled into subdued radiance.

Expressionless, Fang Xi carefully stored the talisman and let out a long breath.

“Fifteen years of tree planting, fifteen years studying the four arts of cultivation. The first ten were challenging to grasp, but the last five saw rapid progress…”

Despite this, due to only dabbling superficially, his talisman crafting skills remained at first-rank low-grade.

As for artificing? He still remained unskilled!

Fang Xi acknowledged that he lacked innate talent in artificing and decided against wasting further resources on it. Even creating talismans served merely as occasional leisure activity.