Tianding and Wanbao... they matched up perfectly.
Fang Qing concealed his aura, appearing as nothing more than an ordinary early Foundation Establishnt cultivator among the many others gathered. He blended in seamlessly, drawing no attention.
As he listened to the various pieces of intelligence, his heart stirred. 'Everything aligns exactly with the hexagram I divined earlier... Alas, when the tree wishes to stand still, the wind refuses to cease.'
He had originally planned to focus most of his energy on the Ancient Shu side while keeping things peaceful here on Verdant Jade Island.
Unfortunately, the world did not develop according to his wishes.
The Taibai Zhong Family and the remnants of Tianxin Linked Island had pulled off such a massive sche against the Blue Sea Sect. From now on, calm would be hard to co by. Even Foundation Establishnt cultivators would likely be forcibly conscripted by the sect.
If news of the secret realm leaked, more Core Formation cultivators might very well descend upon them!
'Truly a ti of many troubles. Should I slip away ahead of ti?'
Leaving the Minor Huan Sea for the Eastern Sea cultivation world required passing through perilous stretches like the Myriad Li Sea Route and zones of absolute spiritual desolation. For a Foundation Establishnt cultivator, crossing them carried considerable risk. Only after reaching Core Formation could one traverse safely.
Moreover, from the hexagram reading, the situation had not yet deteriorated to the point where the Blue Sea Sect faced extinction and imdiate flight was necessary.
The gathered cultivators waited until afternoon before a streak of verdant escape light descended upon the Vast Sea Hall, transforming into Ruan Zhixuan's figure.
She still wore her familiar blue skirt. Her features were refined and delicate, her skin like congealed snow, carrying the gentle charm of a modest beauty.
Yet none of the Foundation Establishnt cultivators dared show the slightest disrespect. They all bowed in unison. "Greetings, Martial Aunt Ruan!"
"Martial Aunt Ruan, how is the situation?"
Shi Tiexin asked imdiately.
"The Core Formation demonic cultivator calls himself True Personage Heiyuan. He indeed cos from the outer seas," Ruan Zhixuan sighed. "When I clashed with him, neither of us could gain the upper hand. We could only call it a temporary draw for now."
In her heart, however, worry lingered. That True Personage Heiyuan clearly knew about the secret realm and had already occupied Tianxin Island.
A great battle between the two sides likely still lay ahead!
She swept her gaze across the group and asked, "Where is Tianding?"
"Reporting to Martial Aunt, Senior Brother Tianding was ambushed by the Sea-Destroying Alliance a few days ago and suffered severe injuries," Shi Tiexin replied, startled at first before quickly reporting. "Does Martial Aunt have urgent business with Senior Brother Tianding?"
"Never mind."
Ruan Zhixuan waved her hand, issued a few more instructions, then dismissed most of the Foundation Establishnt cultivators, leaving only a handful of core high-level mbers to discuss matters in private.
'Major affairs are handled in small etings; minor affairs in large ones. Truly wise words.'
Fang Qing had not been assigned any compulsory tasks, so he returned to the Mystic Jade Cave in a rather good mood.
Standing outside the cave residence, he gazed at the tender sprouts of spirit herbs and felt a sudden impulse. He converted his mana to the [Ji Water] thod.
The profound mysteries of the Long-Awaited Sweet Rain Dao Foundation activated. A gentle shower of clear qi-rain fell in fine droplets.
The young spirit herb seedlings greedily absorbed the rain, showing clear signs of vigorous growth.
Fang Qing stood there for a long ti, his divine sense extended outward as he carefully observed the condition of the spirit herbs and silently contemplated the unique profundities of his Dao Foundation.
'The sect has spirit-plant cultivators who can perform rain techniques to irrigate the fields. But when it cos to accelerating spirit herb growth, none can compare to the mysteries of Long-Awaited Sweet Rain. If I perford this daily, I could probably increase the growth rate of spirit plants by several tenths! Herbs that normally take a hundred years to mature could be ready for harvest in seventy or eighty years.'
'The key is that I am only at early Dao Foundation. There is still so much more potential in this Dao Foundation to explore. Once I reach mid or even late Dao Foundation, could I perhaps double the growth speed?'
After all, his fate star was [Ji Water]. Normally he still focused primarily on the Observing the Black Mausoleum Book.
Breakthroughs in other techniques completely depended on how far this main thod advanced.
'The crucial point is that Observing the Black Mausoleum Book is a Dao Foundation technique. The Earth Spring Tempered True Qi I consud back then was only fifth-rank mid-grade...'
'It will probably be difficult to reach Purple Mansion with it.'
He would either need to seek out a [Ji Water] Purple Mansion technique or switch to cultivating the Whale Devouring Vast Sea Formula. That technique had Purple Mansion-level follow-up thods, and the true qi it absorbed was relatively high-grade. Although it was not his natal thod, at least he could cultivate it without the agonizingly slow progress he experienced with [Lou tal] or [Star Sun].
With the Dao-Genesis Pearl supporting him, Fang Qing held a clear advantage. Once one thod reached Purple Mansion, all thods could advance together. Even without specific Purple Mansion techniques or true qi, he could forcibly elevate his divine abilities.
'Divine abilities! Divine abilities... Dao Foundation transforms into divine abilities over several steps. They fuse into each realm of Dao Foundation and require continuous exploration.'
With a flick of his sleeve, the Dao Foundation mysteries activated once more. He gathered the sweet rain water and collected it into several jade bottles.
'This is healing sweet rain water. Its effect should not fall short of Muscle-Regenerating Bone-nding Pills... though the dicinal power dissipates quickly and can only be preserved for a few months at most.'
'The key advantage is that it requires no materials to refine—only a bit of mana. In warti its cost-effectiveness is extrely high. And it probably has other properties as well; I simply lack test subjects to verify them.'
'The tasks I assigned to Qin Ruxue should be nearly complete. My cave residence still needs a few servants...'
While he pondered, a streak of escape light descended. It turned out to be Shi Tiexin!
"Sect Master Senior Brother? You actually have ti to visit my humble abode?" Fang Qing asked with a slight smile.
Fang Qing cupped his hands in salute.
"Haha, Junior Brother truly possesses a detached and lofty spirit, remaining calm amid chaos. Even with such major events unfolding today, you still have the leisure to perform a spirit rain technique here?"
Shi Tiexin's words carried a hint of gentle admonishnt. He then spoke more solemnly. "Martial Aunt Ruan summons you. She is currently at Tianding's cave residence."
"Oh? Then we should go at once."
Fang Qing's expression grew serious. He followed Shi Tiexin to Tianding's cave residence, where he first paid respects to Ancestor Ruan before seeing the gravely injured Elder Tianding.
The mont he laid eyes on Tianding, Fang Qing nearly failed to hold back a laugh.
At this mont, Tianding's head was completely bald—no hair, no eyebrows, no beard—looking exactly like a smooth, polished egg.
Tianding's old face flushed red as he tried to cover his sowhat sickly appearance. "Those thieves learned so demonic fire technique. That black demonic fla was truly vicious; it severely damaged this old man's vitality."
Only then did Fang Qing notice the extent of Tianding's injuries. His mana aura was unstable, seemingly on the verge of dropping to mid Foundation Establishnt at any mont!
This clearly ant damage to his foundation!
"Tianding, continue with what you were saying earlier."
Ruan Zhixuan stood to one side with her hands behind her back and spoke calmly.
"Yes!"
Elder Tianding replied solemnly. "This old man's injuries are too severe. I fear I can no longer refine the pill Ancestor requires. I specially recomnd Junior Brother Fang Qing here. His pill-refining skill should rank at the very top of Pill Island, second only to this old man."
'Tianding, you are truly trying to harm .'
Fang Qing's scalp tingled. He felt a Core Formation-level divine sense sweep over him along with Ancestor Ruan's gaze.
Fortunately, he had already converted his mana on the way here and even used the Dao-Genesis Pearl to conceal one layer of his cultivation.
No matter how Ruan Zhixuan examined him, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary early Foundation Establishnt cultivator.
"His body refinent is passable, but his cultivation is sowhat lacking."
Ruan Zhixuan offered a brief evaluation before asking, "Martial Nephew Fang, what is the level of your pill-refining attainnt?"
"Reporting to Martial Aunt, this junior passed the second-rank alchemist assessnt during the Qi Refining stage. After Foundation Establishnt, I can barely refine second-rank mid-grade pills!"
Fang Qing answered respectfully.
Upon reaching Foundation Establishnt, a cultivator's divine sense and mana both surged dramatically. It was only natural for the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation to rise by a small grade through related insights.
For example, Qin Ruxue had achieved a breakthrough in array techniques after her Foundation Establishnt.
"Second-rank mid-grade alchemist? That is sowhat low."
Ruan Zhixuan asked further, "Have you ever refined the Minor Barrier-Breaking Pill?"
"I exchanged for the pill formula in the Heavenly Book Pavilion and have studied it to so extent."
Fang Qing answered honestly. After all, the exchange of pill formulas left a record. "Could it be that Martial Aunt wishes to refine a second-rank superior Barrier-Breaking Pill?"
"No. I intend to refine the Great Barrier-Breaking Pill. This pill barely qualifies as third-rank. If it were the previous Tianding, with the assistance of the sect's third-rank spirit spring and the support of many alchemists, there would still be so chance of success. But now..."
Ruan Zhixuan sounded sowhat disappointed. With Tianding gravely injured and unable to even preserve his realm, pill refining was out of the question.
"The Great Barrier-Breaking Pill?"
Even Tianding looked surprised. "This old man thought it was only a second-rank superior Barrier-Breaking Pill. If Junior Brother Fang takes charge, with the assistance of many second-rank alchemists and the use of that third-rank spiritual spring, success might still be possible after a few failures."
"Never mind. Focus on recovering from your injuries."
After confirming that the third-rank Great Barrier-Breaking Pill would be difficult to refine, Ruan Zhixuan lost so interest. She departed with Shi Tiexin in tow.
'Ancestor Ruan wants to refine the Great Barrier-Breaking Pill. Could it be to help a peak late Foundation Establishnt cultivator break through to Pseudo-Core realm... and then take control of the Tide Birth Pearl?'
Fang Qing watched Ruan Zhixuan's escape light vanish, deep in thought.
He probably understood the Blue Sea Sect's strategic situation even better than Sect Master Shi Tiexin.
"Sigh... This old man was careless for a mont and may have delayed important sect affairs."
Tianding lay back on his bed and sighed softly. "The Great Barrier-Breaking Pill is said to be a third-rank pill, yet it falls just short of truly qualifying. With this old man's alchemy skill and the assistance of fellow colleagues, there would still have been considerable confidence in success. What a pity that Junior Brother Fang will not get his chance to shine after all..."
'Thanks a lot.'
Fang Qing rolled his eyes inwardly. Although his true alchemy skill had already surpassed Tianding's, revealing such a shocking fact was absolutely impossible.
"Cough cough... This old man is gravely injured and will need years of recovery to do my utmost to repair my foundation. The affairs of Pill Island will be entrusted to you from now on."
Elder Tianding coughed a few tis and issued instructions.
"? There are plenty of alchemists on the island with far greater seniority than I."
Fang Qing shook his head repeatedly, unwilling to take on the burden.
"On Pill Island, pill-refining skill speaks loudest. This old man has discussed the pill classics with you before. In terms of broad thinking and pill-refining technique... you are already at the absolute peak beneath this old man."
Elder Tianding suddenly gave a sly smile. "Moreover... you have always been fond of avoiding hard work and dislike danger. Serving as the temporary master of the Pill Hall ans you will not need to go out on missions. Is that not perfect for you?"
"That... is indeed worth considering."
Fang Qing slowly nodded and took out a jade bottle filled with sweet rain water. "This is second-rank heavenly spirit water that I obtained by chance. It has healing effects. Senior Brother, please try drinking it."
"Second-rank healing dicine? Would this senior brother lack such a thing?"
Tianding glared, yet he still drained the jade bottle in one gulp. "Mm... the healing effect is average, comparable to a second-rank inferior pill. Wait... no, that's not right..."
"Oh?"
Fang Qing placed his hand on Tianding's back, using the pretext of assisting healing while carefully observing with his divine sense.
"The damage to this old man's foundation has received so nourishnt..."
Monts later, Elder Tianding opened his eyes, his gaze shining brightly. "Junior Brother Fang... if you can give this old man another ten or eight bottles of that spirit water... the damage to my foundation could be mostly alleviated. I might not need to fall in realm after all."
"Where would I have that many?"
Fang Qing gave a wry smile and cupped his hands, producing four bottles. "After all, this is heavenly spirit matter. I only have these few left..."
"Four bottles... very well. This old man owes you a favor this ti."
Elder Tianding flicked his sleeve and took out a jade slip along with a bronze token, tossing them to Fang Qing. "Consider this scripture as repaynt for the spirit water... and this Pill Hall token. Keep it well, Junior Brother. With this token in hand, you are now the master of the Pill Hall."
Fang Qing received the jade slip. As his divine sense swept over it, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
The jade slip began with four large characters: Heavenly Cauldron Pill Scripture.
Clearly, this was Elder Tianding's personal alchemy insights—a second-rank superior alchemy inheritance.
In the outside world, its value would be priceless! Even for Fang Qing at this mont, it held considerable reference value.
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