After Fang Qingyuan left the main hall on the mountain peak, he had a clear path forward. With Lechuan’s endorsent, a Black Market could be set up near the Yuanling Mountain Marketplace. However, he couldn’t get involved himself. He would simply collect his cut of the profits and stay out of the actual business, pushing away any trouble that ca his way. And, of course, the Spirit Stones he received would have to be shared with Lechuan and Zhao Liangde.
After thinking these matters over, Fang Qingyuan went to the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace, planning to buy so Water Attribute Spiritual Materials. Among his five elents, only his Water Spirit Root’s aptitude had yet to reach the level of a Top-grade Spirit Root.
According to the *True Manual of the Five Spirits Transforming Baleful Qi and Refining Form*, Fang Qingyuan had started with the Wood Spirit and was ant to end with the Water Spirit. Once all five of his Spirit Beast forms were condensed, he would then be able to attempt Foundation Establishnt.
Moreover, after achieving Foundation Establishnt through this thod, the combat prowess he would possess would be several tis greater than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishnt Cultivator. It was absolutely worth all the trouble Fang Qingyuan was going through.
With Jinbao in tow, Fang Qingyuan went to the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace to buy so Water Attribute Spiritual Materials. He picked a shop at random, went inside, and spent about a thousand Spirit Stones on materials. Just as he was about to leave for the next shop, the clerk who had been serving him stopped him.
"Master Fang, it looks like you’ve made a decision. May I congratulate us in advance on our successful collaboration?"
Fang Qingyuan looked at the ordinary-looking store clerk. Hearing those words, his heart lurched with dread. ’The people from the Black Hand are this good at disguises? I didn’t notice a single thing out of place.’
"The Black Hand?"
The store clerk nodded in acknowledgnt. Then he added,
"To express our leader’s gratitude to you, Master Fang, we have a piece of information for you. We believe it’s sothing you’re in dire need of."
Fang Qingyuan said without a change in his expression,
"What information?"
"We’ve heard that you’ve been searching for the Tier Four Elixir, the Jade Dew Dust Cleansing Pill, without any success. We, however, know who has it."
Fang Qingyuan was stunned for a mont, then felt a wave of joy. ’This ans there’s a cure for Jiang Kui’s poison after all!’ Originally, Jiang Kui had rely been poisoned by a Foundation Establishnt Demon Beast. If it had been treated promptly, a Tier Two Elixir would have sufficed. However, she was severely injured at the ti and had to delay treatnt for a long ti to escape the beast’s pursuit. This allowed the poison to spread throughout her body, intertwining with her own Spiritual Power. As a result, not even a Tier Three Elixir could completely remove it; only a Tier Four Elixir could restore her to her forr health.
Fang Qingyuan had been desperately seeking this elixir for years. He had asked many people for help but had found no leads. Yet, the mont the Black Hand appeared, they presented him with this incredible gift. ’It seems the Black Hand is quite eager to get on my good side,’ he thought.
Moreover, this was the Black Hand’s way of indirectly proving their capabilities. ’When it cos to intelligence gathering, they really are professionals.’
’Whatever their motives, I have to seize this opportunity,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. He couldn’t possibly let this go. With a slight smile, he said,
"I’ve always been impressed with the Black Hand’s intelligence capabilities. Now then, can you tell where this elixir is located?"
Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s question, the Qi Cultivation-level clerk didn’t beat around the bush and said directly,
"It’s in the possession of Jiang Shang, a Golden Core Cultivator from Sishui Shui Cave on Water Elent Peak, part of the Qi Yun Sect’s Five Elents Peak. He originally had a bottle of six pills but has since used three, so he should have three left. A single pill is enough to cure your senior sister’s poison, though two would be a safer bet."
’So it’s in the hands of a Golden Core Cultivator from the great Qi Yun Sect... But that na, that place... why does it sound so familiar?’
After pondering for a few monts, two figures surfaced in his mind: one willful and senseless, the other steady and open-minded. They were the Cultivators he had encountered years ago when he was fleeing with a group of people during the disaster at Black River Square. One of them had introduced himself as Xu Taichu, and the sect he had nad was the exact place the Black Hand clerk just ntioned.
With this new information and his past connection, Fang Qingyuan felt greatly relieved. ’Fate truly is a marvelous and inexplicable thing,’ he mused.
After finishing, the clerk’s professional smile returned, and he turned to help another custor. Fang Qingyuan was relieved that the Black Hand had simply provided the information without taking the opportunity to make any demands.
Without further delay, Fang Qingyuan gave up on buying more Water Spiritual Materials. He took Jinbao and Yinbao and returned directly to Yuanling Mountain. There, he wrote a letter and arranged for the Treasure Pavilion to deliver it to Sishui Shui Cave on Water Elent Peak, addressed to none other than Xu Taichu.
In the letter, Fang Qingyuan invited Xu Taichu to visit the Southern Border. Logically, he should have been the one to travel, but based on his experience, showing up unannounced to ask for a rare elixir was a surefire way to get thrown out. Therefore, he opted for the strategy of playing the welcoming host. He hoped to first gather useful information from Xu Taichu and, ideally, secure his support. Doing so would significantly increase his chances of obtaining the elixir.
After the letter was sent, Fang Qingyuan hesitated for a long ti but ultimately decided not to tell Jiang Kui about it yet. He was afraid of getting her hopes up for nothing if it all fell through. ’It’s better to wait until I’m absolutely certain of success before I tell her,’ he resolved.
Half a month after handling this matter, the three pieces of low-grade, Tier Three Fire Attribute Spiritual Materials that Fang Qingyuan had buried in the Immortal Mansion were completely absorbed. As a result, his Fire Spirit Root’s aptitude naturally increased to thirty-one points.
It had to be said, Tier Three Spiritual Materials were incredibly potent. Just two pieces had been enough to raise Fang Qingyuan’s Spirit Root aptitude by a single point. But as great as this was, the only drawback was the exorbitant consumption of Spirit Stones.
Tier Three Spiritual Materials, even the low-grade ones, were incredibly valuable, starting at a minimum of twenty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones per piece. A single piece represented a fortune that an ordinary Cultivator might not amass in half a lifeti. Even soone as wealthy as Fang Qingyuan couldn’t afford to treat Tier Three materials as simple consumables.
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